Becoming the Dark Lord

At the edge of a lake, the group was fighting several beasts that had come down to drink. Charlie met them head-on with her sword. Angie stood beside her with her spear. Both of them clearly wanted to show Luke how much stronger they had become.

One of the beasts lunged at Charlie. She spun, her blade slicing clean through the creature’s jaw. In the same instant, Angie drove her spear into its eye, burying it straight into the brain.

**The [Valkyrie] class of Angie has reached Level 45!**

[Angie has unlocked a new Class Skill]

A larger beast charged toward them. Luke saw Charlie focus.

[Blood Orb activated]

[-10 Blood Energy]

[Blood Core: 77/100]

The monster roared.

“Careful, you two,” Layla warned, but Charlie didn’t move.

A red sphere materialized beside her, hovering in the air. The corpses of the fallen beasts around them began to shrivel as blood was drained from their bodies, flowing into the crimson orb.

[Blood Orb: 13/50]

The draining continued until several carcasses were completely dried out.

[Blood Core: 77/100]

[Blood Orb: 50/50]

A second bar appeared beneath Charlie’s Blood Core, now fully filled.

The beast charged.

[Vampiric Strength I activated]

[-10 Blood Energy]

[Blood Core: 77/100]

[Blood Orb: 40/50]

The Blood Energy was consumed from the Blood Orb instead of her core. Charlie punched the creature square in the chest. She didn’t channel any power into her fist, only raw strength. The monster was sent flying, dead before it hit the ground. More beasts rushed in, and Charlie sprinted forward.

[Blood Orb: 50/50]

The red sphere siphoned blood from the fallen bodies as she moved.

[Vampiric Strength I activated]

[Vampiric Leap activated]

[-15 Blood Energy]

[Blood Core: 77/100]

[Blood Orb: 35/50]

She leapt high and crashed down in the middle of the beasts. Sword in hand, she began cutting through them. One by one, they fell, their blood drawn into the hovering orb.

[Blood Orb: 50/50]

Charlie kept fighting, striking relentlessly, with Angie right behind her.

“They’re doing everything,” Layla muttered.

“Yeah,” Luke replied. “Best to let them.”

When it was over, every beast lay dead. Charlie walked forward, holding her blood-soaked sword, then flicked it clean.

“That was impressive,” Layla said. “But that skill of yours is kind of creepy.”

The [Blood Orb] floated near Charlie like a magnet, always close. It wasn’t permanent. The orb was already growing faint, thin cracks spreading across its surface. As the fight dragged on, its limit began to shrink.

[Blood Orb: 42/42]

It was incredibly powerful, but temporary. A trump card. The upside was clear. Charlie had used multiple vampiric skills without touching her Blood Core, which only activated when she first summoned the orb.

After dealing with the beasts, Luke collected four cores.

“Every big fight, I’m always left out, human,” Franky complained. “You’ve got to put me in the action. I can feel myself getting stronger every day. I’ll have my moment.”

“You’re tiny. You’re only good for lighting campfires,” Artemis replied.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“At least I have a body,” Franky snapped.

“What’s better,” she shot back, “not having a body and not getting in the way, or having one and being a nuisance?”

Franky clicked his tongue. “You’ll see. I’ll have my moment. I’m slowly regaining my power. Soon beasts will tremble when they see me.”

“Yes,” she said dryly. “Ants and insects will flee in terror.”

“Stop stalling, snake. Absorb the cores already,” Luke said.

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has successfully absorbed a Rank E Mana Core.]

[Rank E Cores (69/100)]

[Rank E Cores (70/100)]

[Rank E Cores (71/100)]

[Rank E Cores (72/100)]

Almost 75. Would that unlock another skill?

Franky had been gaining skills in chunks of 25 cores. But maybe, now that he’d passed the halfway mark, the next one would only come at one hundred.

***

As they approached the abyss base, Luke saw that the place was occupied once again.

“I figured this would happen,” he muttered.

They crouched low, observing from a distance. People were posted outside now. A wooden watchtower with a bell had been erected, and there were figures stationed on the rooftops as well.

Luke had only come back because, out of all the places where he could jump into the abyss, he wanted one that was somehow connected to the onis. That base didn’t look like it had been built there by accident.

“They’re definitely irritated,” Layla said quietly. “But are these really the baron’s soldiers now?”

“Most likely.”

“Looks like I’ll get to test my new skill,” Angie said.

She was eager. Since Luke had left, she had jumped from level 29 to 45. She had surprised him with two skills already: [Spear Return] at level thirty and [Advanced Lightning Resistance] at level 35. Both had excellent applications, covering very different combat scenarios.

Luke didn’t know exactly how a Valkyrie was supposed to fight, but Angie was becoming increasingly versatile in her own way. At level 40, she had chosen a skill that enhanced her throwing attacks.

[Bloodthirsty Spear (Rare)]: When the Valkyrie throws her spear, she channels mana along the blade’s edge, causing the impact to tear open a deep wound that is difficult to close. The strike leaves an irregular gash that continues to bleed even after the enemy retreats, dealing sustained damage and weakening movement. If the attack hits a vital point or exposed area, the blade tears with greater precision, applying a minor critical strike that intensifies the bleeding.

Angie’s current spear fighting style reminded Luke of the Midnight King. Those were the major strides she had taken in her Valkyrie class while he was away. Now she had chosen her final class skill at level 45.

[Lightning Spear (Ultra-Rare)]: The Valkyrie envelops her spear in concentrated electrical energy, causing the metal to vibrate with sharp crackles as sparks race along the shaft. While active, every thrust or slash delivers an immediate electrical discharge to the target, inducing shock, sharp pain, and spasms that disrupt coordination and movement. The electricity remains bound to the weapon for the duration of the skill, imbuing every attack with the direct, punishing force of lightning.

It paired perfectly with Angie’s [Advanced Lightning Resistance]. This marked the last major step in her Valkyrie class, because at level 50 the system would force an evolution. Luke had no idea what the system would prepare for her. He didn’t truly understand the paths a Valkyrie could take.

“There are two ways we can take this place,” Luke said. “How do you want to do it?”

“Isn’t it just you jumping into the abyss?” Layla asked.

“And get attacked while I’m on the way down, with Angie having to pull me back out?”

With that, the group planned a small assault. It would double as training. After all, if the Temple of the Spore Forest had required them to face an oni army, the final temple was guaranteed to be anything but easy.

***

Luke watched from the forest. A wall stood ahead. When the guard looked away, Luke moved, fully focused as he activated [Advanced Stealth]. He followed with [Basic Dark Dash], closed the distance, reached the wall, and vaulted over it.

The base came into view. It had changed. Reinforced. Expanded. There were more people inside now. Luke hurled a throwing knife to the top of the building ahead.

[Witch’s Thread activated]

The thread yanked him upward, and he climbed the rest of the way. From the rooftop, he had a clear view of everything. He pulled a bow from his inventory and activated [Acid Blood Arrow]. He fired straight into the sky. Then again. And a third time.

When the arrows fell, three separate acid clouds erupted across the base. They spread fast, merging into a single choking mass that swallowed the entire area. Screams followed. Coughing. Wind magic flared as people desperately tried to disperse the cloud.

“My eyes! My eyes!” someone screamed, stumbling blindly through the haze.

Even the archers abandoned their towers, leaping down and running from the acid. Then Angie appeared, descending from the sky. She came down hard, spear pointed straight below, impaling a soldier from above. Angie spun the weapon, gripping it firmly as she activated [Lightning Spear]. Electricity crackled along the shaft as she surged forward with [Valkyrie Charge], skewering another man and lifting him screaming into the air. She flung his body toward an archer, knocking both down.

Angie took to the air again, throwing her spear and pulling it back with [Spear Return] in one fluid motion. She slammed into a running soldier, driving the spear into his face. Arrows flew toward her. Angie crossed her wings in front of herself, activating [Winged Defense].

“She’s got wings, damn it!” someone shouted.

She kept moving. Arrows struck her stone-like wings and bounced away. When she spread them again, her spear was already in motion, plunging into an archer’s throat.

A group of soldiers poured out of a nearby building. Five of them. Their armor was purple. They were strong. Luke could feel it. Angie tightened her grip on the crackling spear. Then Charlie dropped down beside her, Lulie appearing at the same time.

Charlie’s eyes burned red.

“I don’t care if one of you can fly,” said the man in the most imposing purple armor. “I am the Fourth Red Finger.”

He raised his sword. It glowed, releasing a yellow haze that seemed to pour from the blade itself.

“Unless you were Rank D,” he continued calmly, “I might be worried. But you’re not.”