"Nope, not on the ceiling."
"Not in the kitchen either."
"Bathroom—nothing there."
Damian Vale opened his pants to check. Still nothing.
"Hey! Where the hell are you? Come out!"
He called out, voice rising with annoyance.
A second later, a pitch-black silhouette slowly emerged out of thin air.
This thing… this shadow… What exactly was it? It appeared and vanished without the slightest sound.
Damian rubbed his temples. "Where did you go? Do you have some kind of stealth skill?"
The shadow raised its hand and began gesturing frantically. But Damian had no clue what it was trying to say.
"Just pick up a pen. Write it down."
The shadow obediently walked to the desk, grabbed a pen, and scribbled a single word:
Darkside.
"The world's dark side?" Damian caught on quickly.
The shadow nodded.
"You went there? Why?"
The shadow wrote again: Push-ups.
"…You went to the dark side to do push-ups?"
The shadow: Training.
Training in the dark side… Could it actually be more effective over there?
Damian fell into thought.
Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea. At least this thing wouldn't be standing silently in the room, creeping him out.
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing a black silhouette just standing next to your bed. Even if you didn't drop dead from fright, your soul would probably take some damage.
The description for Shadow Element had even encouraged giving training commands. So yeah, whatever—it could go train all it wanted.
The sun had fully set. A bright moon now hung high over the Branwick Safe Zone.
Moonlight, like a soft veil, draped across the quiet city. The streets buzzed with traffic, though not nearly as lively as the metropolises from Damian's old world. As the night deepened, the noise faded too.
By 11 PM, aside from patrols from The Dawnhall, you'd rarely see anyone outside.
Waving his shadow off, Damian pulled out a chair and powered up his computer and drawing tablet.
Aside from being a high schooler, he was also a wildly popular manga artist.
Thanks to his previous life's experience in illustration, the first thing he did after crossing into this world was to begin creating manga.
After the Cataclysm, Veylund's entertainment industry had been all but obliterated. His first series exploded in popularity the moment it dropped.
"Alright, I've rested for half a month. Time to launch a new series. There are so many hot-blooded genres… Which one should I go with this time?"
He opened up his notepad, slowly scrolling past a long list of potential titles.
"Conquering Another World," "My Wife is an Elf," "The Secretary's Guardian," "Legacy of the Dragonlord"…
Choosing between your own creations—it was a blessing and a curse.
…
The next morning.
BANG BANG BANG!
BANG BANG BANG!
Damian's eyelids twitched. He stirred awake, still at his desk.
He must've fallen asleep while drawing.
"Damian Vale! Open up!"
A familiar voice shouted from the other side of the door.
"Jeez, it's so early… What now?"
Yawning, he shuffled to the door and opened it.
[HP: 90%]
The moment the door cracked open, a silver-haired girl barged right in, all energy and smiles.
This was Rina Carver—Damian's classmate, childhood friend, and diehard fan of his manga.
She had short, silvery hair, lively eyes, and an adorable aura. Her nose was softly shaped, which gave her face a delicate charm. And her lips… soft, glossy, kissable.
Wait, what?
Damian blinked.
Why was her health bar so low?
One glance at the calendar answered that.
He rubbed his nose awkwardly and looked away.
"Hurry, hurry! You posted last night that you're starting a new series! Did you finalize the concept? Show me the setting sketches!"
SLAM!
A loud noise echoed.
Rina flinched. Her face paled.
She slowly turned around—and her face went even paler.
The reinforced door had slammed shut, sending a small cloud of dust falling from the frame. Hairline cracks crept up the wall.
"Damian Vale… even if you didn't want to show me, slamming the door like that was a bit much, wasn't it?"
She swallowed hard.
Damian didn't answer.
He was staring in disbelief at his own arm.
His muscles were defined, taut, and humming with power. Just a light flex and his bicep tightened like coiled steel.
"You've been working out?!"
Rina gawked at his chest and solid arms.
Even through his thin T-shirt, the lines of his muscles were unmistakable. Not exaggerated, but undeniably strong.
"Wait… you didn't take something, did you?!"
Well, she was a Watcher's daughter. Her reaction was instant. No blushes—just sharp suspicion.
"Damian, I'm warning you, that stuff is dangerous! My dad handles dozens of those cases every year—"
"Can you shut up for one second?"
His eye twitched.
"Then explain! Just five days ago, you were normal! Now you're a damn beast!"
She even reached toward her waist.
"Hold on! You're not seriously pulling out a weapon, are you?!"
"Ahem." Rina paused and reached the other way.
A small device, about the size of her palm, landed in Damian's hands.
"Here. Clip your finger. Let's check."
"What's it for?"
"Contamination levels."
After the Abyss descended and the Aberrants came, people could be contaminated in a hundred different ways. Killing them, consuming tainted substances, harboring hatred and resentment—it all added up. And if it built up too much, it led to mutation or worse.
But his powers came from the symbol on his chest and a strange manual. What's there to be contaminated by?
Still, Damian didn't argue. He took the small device. "How do I use this?"
"Just clip your finger."
It looked like a medical clip.
He placed it on his index finger.
A few seconds passed, and a faint electric pulse entered his body.
Instantly, something inside him stirred—his Ability Points reacted.
The numbers on the device shot up.
5… 8… 15… 20… 30…
"Shit."
Damian's eyes widened. He suppressed the energy flaring up inside him.
Thankfully, the numbers quickly dropped and stabilized.
"See? Nothing to worry about," Damian said with a guilty grin.
Rina still looked suspicious but put away her weapon.
Wait. Weapon?
"Don't tell me you were actually gonna shoot me."
"Just being cautious."
After a lot of coaxing—and bribing her with a full set of exclusive manga sketches—Damian finally shooed her out the door.
Back in his room, he pulled up the system panel:
[Your shadow has entered the world's dark side for training.]
[Shadow Erosion activated. Initial Ability Points absorbed. Your shadow has grown stronger.]
[Training ongoing… Strength +1]
[Training ongoing… Strength +1]
[Shadow Erosion active… Ability Points +1]
[Shadow Erosion active… Ability Points +1]
The entire log was filled with updates.
Damian stared at it all, blinking blankly.
After several seconds, he waved his hand.
"Hey, get over here."
The shadow emerged once more.
"You trained all night?"
The shadow nodded.
"Insane…"
Damian's eyes lit up with new fervor.
"Alright. Push-ups alone won't cut it anymore."
"You're a mature shadow now. It's time we leveled up your training."
"Starting now—no more regular push-ups. You'll do jump rope, plus—"
He paused, then rattled off his commands like a drill sergeant:
"Push-ups. Planks. One-handed handstand push-ups. Squats. Spider crawls. Jumping jacks."
"Let's get serious."