Umbra

Kaden's jaw dropped to the ground as he stared at the unbelievable notification. The skill had actually leveled up!

How was this possible?

In 'Apocalypse Online' there were only two ways to level up a skill and both of them were extremely difficult and time-consuming, involving several hours of grinding.

If achieving level 16 on the first day was an impossible feat, then leveling up a skill on the first day was even more so!

Kaden could count in his hands the number of times he had used the summoning spell, and he still did not understand the heads or tails of it, then how the hell did the skill level up?

"Fuck it. Let me first see what this level up gives me." Excitement coursed through Kaden's veins as he eagerly opened the skill description for his newly leveled-up summoning skill.

The possibilities raced through his mind as he anticipated the potential enhancements or new abilities it might offer. To his surprise, the skill description revealed a significant upgrade that was neither of the above.

<Obsidian Oath: Forge an unbreakable pact with a dweller of the abyss. By uttering the sacred incantation and sealing the agreement with an offering of one's own essence, the user gains the ability to summon and command the enigmatic beings that reside within the shadows of the abyss. Current Limit: 2>

"Are you serious? I can make a contract with another one?"

Kaden immediately activated the skill to see what new creature was going to pop out now. The abyss imp had smashed all of his expectations and then some more. So he had high hopes for the next one.

He rubbed his hands and waited in anticipation when the skill activation was underway. Just like before, a swirling vortex of darkness materialized before Kaden. From within the depths of the void emerged a new figure, pitch black in color.

It was a majestic black dog-like beast with fur as dark as the night sky. It had a powerful frame, muscular limbs, and a sleek, glossy coat that seemed to absorb all light.

Two large, curved horns adorned its head, adding an air of both power and mystique to its appearance.

The creature stood at Kaden's side, radiating an aura of strength and fury. Its eyes, a deep shade of crimson, glowed with an otherworldly intensity as if it was mirroring the blood lust of the creature.

As Kaden gawked at this new creature and swallowed, the skill notification chimed once again:

Ding! <Shadow Stalker; Level 1>

Ding! <Do you wish to name your summoned creature?>

Kaden stood dumbfounded. "You want me to believe that this guy is actually a level 1?" He blinked his eyes and looked at the system interface, only seeing the same notification every single time.

He then fell back and started howling in a maniacal laughter, making both the imp and the fancy dog stare at him intently. "This is good. This is too good!"

He laughed for quite a while before finally calming down. "Alright. You are simply too cool to look at. I am going to call you Umbra."

The shadow stalker snorted in acknowledgment. Kaden ran his fingers over the beast's sleek mane as he hurriedly analyzed the status screen of the impressive creature.

Seeing how it was physically intimidating, he expected a more direct combat-type profile, but the beast was not that simple.

Name: Umbra

Level: 1

Race: Creature of the Abyss

Health: 100/100

Mana: 100/100

Stamina: 100/100

Strength: 15

Agility: 18

Intelligence: 5

Defense: 5

Skills:

Shadow Strike: Executes a swift and deadly strike from the shadows, dealing increased damage to the target.

Shadow Cloak: Envelops the Shadow Stalker in an ethereal cloak, granting temporary invisibility and increased stealth capabilities.

Shadow Step: Allows the Shadow Stalker to teleport short distances, instantly repositioning itself in the blink of an eye.

Evasive Shadows (Passive): The Shadow Stalker's connection to the shadows enhances its evasion, increasing the chances of dodging incoming attacks.

Shadow Affinity (Passive): Affinity for the shadows grants increased effectiveness in dark and dimly lit environments. Increases damage output by 5%

Dark Affinity (Passive): The Shadow Stalker's resilience to dark energy and magical attacks provides increased resistance against such damage.

"What the…" Kaden was gobsmacked. Once again, another unique creature had shown up. Its skills were awesome. Just a lower-level creature had such complex skills.

He could already envision strategic ambushes, surprise attacks from the shadows, and covert operations that would leave their enemies bewildered and defeated.

Umbra's Shadow Strike and Shadow Cloak skills would provide them with a tactical advantage, enabling them to strike swiftly and disappear into the darkness at will.

The only drawback was that now with two pets, his leveling speed was going to slow down further, but this was something easily solvable.

Kaden exhaled deeply. From the way this was going, this class was perhaps something like an abyss summoner?

A Summoner Class wasn't all that bad, but there was a small thing that was bothering him. His gut feeling told him that this class wasn't so simple. This was because…

There was still the quest 'Tome of Eternal Darkness'. He had only learned the first skill from the Tome. So how could the entire class be based on just the first skill?

Also, the first skill shouldn't be the most powerful skill. Kaden clicked his tongue as he wondered what the next page in the Tome was going to be about and what skill he was going to acquire from it.

Perhaps that would help him determine once and for all if this path is worthwhile or not. Kaden nodded. However, not everything was going smoothly.

He still had a big problem. He had no idea how even to start working on this all-important quest.