First Shadow Soldier

Caxaer, a monster known for its elemental ability was slain by Daniel and its body dropped to the ground with lifeless eyes.

'That was easy and I guess it's time to try out the abilities of Dark Sovereign'

Daniel smirked with his palm facing against the dead corpse, and seconds later, he muttered 'Shadow Extraction' with expectation.

But to his disappointment, it didn't work, but he never took it to heart and tried again only to fail with disappointment.

At this point, he began to worry whether he'd miss the chance to recruit a powerful soldier into his collection.

The Shadow Extraction only has a maximum of 3 attempts and its success rate depends on the rank and how long the corpse has been left since then.

Moreover, even the dead have a chance of refusing to be a shadow where depending on how powerful they were before, they might have a chance of cancelling the extraction.

However, his worries were futile.

From the charred remnants of the monster, a thick, inky liquid began to seep out.

It pooled and formed a shadowy figure that seemed to materialize out of the very essence of darkness itself.

Daniel's eyes widened in astonishment as he beheld the being before him.

The shadow stood with an aura of mystique, its form shrouded in an inky blackness that seemed to devour the light around it.

Its eyes, a deep and mesmerizing crimson, glowed like embers in the dark.

[: You have recruited Caxaer into your shadow army :]

The notification flashed in his mind, confirming that the shadowy entity now belonged to him.

It was a revelation that left Daniel both awestruck and with a sense of achievement.

He had never imagined that one day, the powers of the dark sovereign would be within his hands.

"This is...spectacular," Daniel murmured to himself, his voice tinged with excitement.

The shadow's appearance was nothing short of mesmerizing.

It was a manifestation of darkness that seemed to dance and weave with otherworldly elegance.

He couldn't help but compare it to a work of art, a living embodiment of a shadow beauty.

As the shadow approached, its movements were fluid and graceful.

"This is a bit awkward," he admitted, a wry smile playing on his lips.

"How am I supposed to behave when I have shadows bowing to me?"

The concept of leadership and authority was a realm he had never truly ventured into.

He was more accustomed to being a lone adventurer, relying on his own self to survive.

The idea of having followers was far from his desires. 

However, despite his uncertainty, Daniel couldn't deny the loyalty that radiated from the shadow.

It had willingly acknowledged him as its master, bowing before him in a display of subservience.

It was a realization that made him realise that one day there would be thousands of shadow soldiers listening to his command.

At such thoughts, he became even more eager to conquer more monsters, especially those Apex predatory ones.

As such, Daniel took a step forward, his gaze fixed on the shadow before him.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to figure it out as we go along," he mused.

"But for now, let's see what you're capable of."

As if sensing his intention, the shadow inclined its form slightly, its crimson eyes gleaming with a mischievous glint.

It was as if the shadow itself was eager to showcase its abilities, to demonstrate the power that lay within its ethereal form.

With a deep breath, Daniel extended his hand toward the shadow, his fingers curling slightly as if beckoning it to approach.

"Come," he said softly, his voice carrying a mixture of command and invitation.

"Show me what you can do."

The shadow responded with a subtle nod, its form rippling like liquid darkness as it flowed toward him.

It seemed to meld seamlessly with his outstretched hand, the sensation both eerie and exhilarating.

As the shadow merged with him, Daniel felt a surge of energy coursing through his veins, a newfound connection that bound them together.

''So there's a connection between us? That's interesting''

He nodded his head to his understanding and after he was satisfied with the shadow soldier, he commanded it to return.

"Return to the shadow realm''

As though acknowledging the words of its master, the shadow lifts its head up before nodding in agreement.

The next moment, the ground beneath the shadow overflowed with darkness.

It was like mud that devoured the shadow slowly and afterwards, the shadow remained in the Shadow Realm till further notice.

Shadow Realm is a world or perhaps a space made from Darkness where beings of shadows reside and stay till they heed the call of their Master.

And in the meantime, Daniel began searching for monsters to recruit.

However, instead of recruiting those monsters similar to Caxaer, he chose the weaker ones since he wanted to fulfil his dream.

A dream he used to have when he remembered the sight of the original owner summoning millions of monsters, creatures and other living beings onto Earth as they fought against the monster of the apocalypse.

It was a breathtaking sight that he wished to recreate. 

Walking towards the safest part of the Danger Zone, Daniel encountered a group of monsters known as Apet.

Monsters were infamously known for their hunting techniques.

There were monsters that preferred to hunt their prey in groups rather than alone and Apet is one of them.

Usually, encountering a monster randomly would most likely be numbered to 5 or less.

Well, that's also depending on the location itself.

But for Apet, you wouldn't find their numbers lesser than 10.

In fact, the average number would be 25 at least.

This is the fact that Apet possesses powerful skills that firstly allowed them to teleport their location to anywhere as long their blood was connected to their kin.

A sibling could be from a different continent and one of them could still teleport towards its sibling.

Secondly, their nails are naturally imbued with a paralysis poison that could stop a Level 150 Player's movements for 5 seconds.

They were terrifying foes to deal and most players avoided trouble with them if they could since no one knows how many Apet are there in the world.

It's even terrifying to imagine that all of them were connected to one another.

Having said that, Apet is only feared for their teleportation ability and not their prowess.

After all, they were only good in numbers and nothing else.

In fact, as much as their teleportation sounds overpowered, it does possess a weakness.

Think about it, if Apet has such a terrifying ability wouldn't they be taken advantage of by the neighbouring rulers of continents?

Well, in the end, Apet teleportation only applies to themselves and no matter how many living beings or objects were brought, the skill only allowed the user to teleport.

Hence, they weren't useful and if they indeed were, perhaps, Modern Fantasia may have its own sense of crisis.

The Appearance of an Apet is similar to a rabbit but heinous and vicious, and Daniel could still recall the sight of them munching up players with their crooked teeth dyed with blood.

And those monsters were right before his eyes and were numbered around 30.

Upon noticing the presence of a human, the Apet eyes diluted as though discovering food to satiate their hunger and they rushed without holding back.

With 30 Apet chasing a single human, it might be overwhelming since their speed was no joke.

And to add salt to the wound, each time one of their kids was ahead, they teleported by their side since all of them were in one race.

Yet, on the other hand, Daniel watched this with amusement.

However, learning his lesson a while back, he wouldn't underestimate any kind of monster.

Moreover, he understands that the Danger Zone isn't a park for him to play, it's a kind of place where he's betting on his life for a better future.

Hence, he didn't wish to keep the farce of prolonging a battle and choose to take a drastic measure, hoping to wipe every single one of them with one attack.