Becoming the Dark Lord

Luke and his group continued along the forest road. Along the way, they passed a weathered wooden sign warning that it was dangerous to proceed on foot due to wolves.

“Ordinary people would’ve been torn apart by a single one of those,” Luke muttered after reading it.

About an hour later, they ran into more wolves.

Angie moved first.

She struck one head-on, driving the spear cleanly into its eye, then flowing into a second thrust at the neck. Her movements were graceful, almost elegant, the spear spinning as if it were weightless. When the others tried to surround her, Angie beat her wings and rose into the air, plunging down on another wolf from above. The last one turned to flee, but she surged forward midair and impaled it without hesitation.

[Angie has slain a Wild Wolf-Dog: Lvl 8]

[Angie has slain a Wild Wolf-Dog: Lvl 8]

[Angie has slain a Wild Wolf-Dog: Lvl 8]

**The [Valkyrie] class of Angie has reached Level 2!**

[Angie acquired a Valkyrie skill]

She looked tired afterward. Luke even noticed her taking a deep breath, or at least something that resembled one.

Her body was… strange. Despite looking like stone, her skin was soft to the touch. When Luke had asked earlier if he could test that by touching her hand, Charlie had shot him a sharp look, and he had wisely abandoned the idea. The wound Angie had taken hadn’t bled at all. Instead, fragments of gray flesh had chipped away, as if she truly were carved from stone.

Angie’s body was gray, flesh and all, with the texture of rock. No blood. No heartbeat. No need to breathe. It reminded Luke of Anne. It looked alive, felt alive, but at the same time felt artificial, like some kind of organic android.

“My lord, this is the skill I gained,” Angie said, presenting it to him.

[Spear Throw (Common)]: A Valkyrie’s strength is not limited to the reach of her spear. With instinctive precision, you have learned to hurl it as an extension of your own will. The impact is piercing and relentless, capable of breaking defenses, destabilizing enemies, and creating decisive openings in battle. Each throw carries disciplined technique and the ferocity of one who turns distance into lethal advantage.

“Nice. It’s kind of like my knife skill.”

“Yes. We share something similar. That’s why I liked this skill.”

They continued talking as they walked, discussing the routine for the next day. At times, Luke would need to store her back in his soul while sprinting along the road. If he pushed his stamina, he was faster than an ordinary horse.

“I can always talk to you while I’m in your soul,” she said calmly. “So that’s not a problem for me.”

Luke glanced at her. “Angie, this is a new life for you. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I tend to push myself at an unhealthy pace, chasing goals that are mostly for my own sake. There’s no reason for you to follow me, and I won’t be upset if you decide to leave and walk your own path.”

She looked at him, confusion crossing her face at first. Then she smiled, warm and steady.

“Lord Luke, I will stay by your side until the very end. If you decide to circle the world ten times, I’ll walk every one of those journeys with you.”

She stepped closer.

“And besides,” she said softly, placing her hand on his cheek. For a brief moment, Luke caught a glimpse of Angélica in her expression. “I don’t want you to grow weak. I want you to achieve all your goals, preferably without a single scratch.”

Angie gently squeezed his cheek, not enough to hurt.

“But if you’re going to do something that puts you in danger,” she added, meeting his eyes, “then I want to be right there with you.”

***

Luke finished pulling on his clothes after bathing in the river. His gaze drifted toward the distant mountains, and for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, Allison came to mind. Maybe it was because the sight reminded him of his time in the tutorial.

I don’t have the power to help you yet, Allison. But I promise I will. One day, I’ll take the road straight to the capital and storm that castle, whether there’s a dragon living there or a dozen of them. No one gets to hurt the people I consider my family.

He opened his system interface and retrieved the item he’d received from the tutorial after killing the Midnight King.

[Eye of Sariel (Unique)

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Description: They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. This one is a shattered fragment of it. The Eye of Sariel carries the wounded remnant of a being that was once an archangel of immense power. Over time, its greatness crumbled, reducing it to a thief of bodies, desperate to continue existing yet incapable of understanding its own purpose.

Instead of guiding the lesser beings back to their home, Sariel chose to walk among them, taking what was never his. What he failed to foresee was that among those lesser beings existed something cunning, patient, and malevolent. A demon.

This eye is all that remains. Not redemption, only echoes.

Enchantments:

[Sariel’s Identify (Unique)]: Sariel possessed an absolute gift of analysis, capable of seeing souls, systems, and hidden truths. The fragment preserved within this eye, though weakened, allows the user to analyze items and reveal deep information. However, the quality and depth of the analysis vary according to the complexity of the target, reflecting what remains of Sariel’s true power.

[Skill Rank Devourer (Unique)]: Even reduced to a fragment, the eye retains a trace of Sariel’s ancient hunger for knowledge and power. It can devour a Rank skill, absorbing its essence and claiming that power as its own.

Requirement: SoulBound]

Luke stared at the item resting in his hand. A wounded blue eye.

Strangely enough, it was right where I struck my first blow against the Midnight King. I hit him in the eye with my kukri.

The reward had been unexpected. He’d anticipated almost anything else. Allison had received a sword after killing the Orc Lord. Luke himself had gained a familiar after defeating the Beast Lord. Erza had earned armor for slaying the Midnight Lord.

But the Midnight King had left him an eye.

It’s not stone. This thing is flesh.

For a month, while living with the Baumanns, Luke had tried to figure out how the eye worked. The discovery came by accident. If he covered one of his own eyes with his hand and focused mana into the ”artifact”, he could see through it while holding it.

Luke placed his kukris on the ground. Fixing his gaze on them, he activated the Eye’s Identify skill, and new information surfaced.

[Demonic Twin Kukris (Rare)

Description: These blades were forged as a gift for the rise of a demon. Symbols of the horns he never grew, these twin kukris are bound to their master, walking beside him on his path to the throne of tyranny.

Enchantments:

[Magnetic Return (Rare)]: A demon should never be without his horns. These blades are bound by a magnetic link, allowing them to return to the user’s hand after being thrown. The effective range scales with the Perception stat.

[Shadow Presence (Uncommon)]: The blades passively absorb ambient light, becoming harder to detect in dark environments. Increases the effectiveness of stealth attacks.

Information:

Rarity: Rare

Core: F

Requirement: SoulBound

Type: Weapon.]

“Four months have passed, and this is all I can do so far.”

As he stared at the eye resting in his hand, he knew there was something powerful hidden there.

Sariel was probably the name of that archangel. Which made him wonder what Angie’s true name had been back when she was still an angel. As for the eye’s second skill, he had no idea how to activate it.

The Eye of Sariel can devour and claim a Rank Skill. I could steal someone’s Rank Skill and make it my own.

Testing that power would be far more complicated. He didn’t know how to trigger it, and he couldn’t afford to experiment blindly. If the eye could only consume a Rank Skill once, then he would have to use it on someone whose skill was truly worth it. And that meant knowing what someone’s Rank Skill was, something people never openly shared, since a Rank Skill revealed part of who they were.

I need to find a Rank Skill worth taking.

He stored the eye back in his inventory.

If I want to kill that Dragon Queen, I can’t afford to pass up opportunities for power. When the moment comes, I’ll find a way to use this eye.

***

Once he finished getting dressed, Luke headed back toward the camp.

He made sure to walk loudly. Even with her enhanced hearing, Charlie wasn’t constantly listening at full capacity. She had to focus. And, well, traveling with women turned out to be very different from traveling alone. He had never paid attention to certain details back when he traveled with Allison, Eleanor, or Evangeline, but now it was different. Charlie had to deal with intimate, feminine matters.

He had no idea how vampire biology worked. Did Charlie even menstruate? Thankfully, Angie was there to help, offering advice and handling those delicate topics. They were far beyond his domain.

At least the three of them had separate tents.

Luke approached his own tent. There were three set up, one for each of them. One of the advantages of being out of the tutorial was that preparation was simple. You just bought what you needed. He had blankets, pillows, and clothes prepared for everyone. Angie, of course, didn’t sleep or eat. Being a statue had its quirks.

“It’s me. I’m coming in,” he said loudly enough for them to hear.

“Master Luke, I made dinner for you,” Charlie called out.

“Let’s save it for breakfast or lunch. I’m not hungry right now, but thank you, Charlie.”

The good thing was that he could just store it in his storage item. They talked briefly about their next steps.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take the first watch?” he asked.

“Don’t worry. I can’t sleep anyway,” Angie replied. “Perks and drawbacks of being a statue. Charlie will stay up with me.”

Luke glanced at Charlie, who was sitting on a fallen log. “Don’t worry, husband. You can sleep. I still need more… feminine advice from Angie.”

Luke cleared his throat softly and nodded. Those were conversations he really didn’t need to hear. Angie had even taught Charlie how to bathe properly. Little by little, she was learning.

“Alright. Call me if anything dangerous shows up.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Charlie said, raising her fist as it burst into flame. “I’ll protect you.”

“Okay.”

Luke closed his tent.

As he did, their voices started up again outside.

“Alright, Charlie… where were we?” Angie asked.

“The part about female grooming,” Charlie answered.

Luke accidentally opened his system inventory in a panic and rushed to lie down.

I’m hearing things I really shouldn’t…

“I love shaved women!” Artemis’s voice suddenly echoed from outside.

To make matters worse, that crazy woman was joining the conversation.