Above the jagged peak, a patch of dark mist trembled as the space around it crackled with power.

And then, a flash of black lightning appeared, tearing a rift through the dark haze, before flickering away to nothing. With it gone, all that was left was a shadowy serpent that did not stand out much on the chasm's edge.

I made it back…I think.

With a few minor adjustments, the appearance of [Blink] had changed quite a bit from before.

Yet, I refused to open my eyes, or move, except to tuck the tip of my tail under my coil. Remaining perfectly still, I made sure to note my position on the chasm's edge with [Mind's Eye] before sighing in relief.

Did he notice?

Technically, this wasn't cheating - my coils made up the majority of my body anyway!

«Well done.» Sensei remarked, after keeping me in suspense for several seconds. «A few inches off the mark, but acceptable, nonetheless.»

Finally! I wanted to jump with joy!

After arriving from the shadowy dimension, I was pleased to see my accuracy had improved yet again. I released my coils to flop lazily on the rocks as I recovered my MP.

This time, I arrived a good distance away from the chasm's edge, compared to before when [Blink] completely missed the edge by more than a metre.

At the time, my weight, combined with the jagged rocks that broke under them, nearly sent me tumbling down the chasm. It was merely a stroke of luck that I managed to recover without alerting the Abyssal monster below me.

I was happy such a disastrous blunder did not repeat itself!

"How long has it been?" I perked up to ask Sensei.

«Roughly, five minutes.» He replied.

Oh? This was another great piece of news! It seemed I had gotten even faster.

Those five minutes were more than thirty in the shadow realm, and I had been using [Blink] repeatedly to travel to and from the valley. The extra time the shadow realm afforded, allowed me to build up my strength.

This return trip would make it my third one, so far. And this time, my time spent there should shorten again.

Looking over the chasm, I was pleased to see everything was the same as before. The feline Abyssal monster was still keeping watch below, the occasional cry of a creature could be heard across the valley, and most importantly, the shadow creature was still in its lair, much to my relief.

Although its aura was back to its peak state, I wasn't too worried, because through 'observing' its skills, I had also gotten stronger.

I activated my [Shadow Shroud] for the first time outside the shadow realm, feeling the mana surrounding me fluctuate as tendrils of darkness sped past my body to strike the rocks in front of me.

In a second, it was over. The slashes left behind like an ugly scar - diagonal, deep, and jagged, with every stroke varying in length and thickness.

Time spent in the shadow realm allowed my [Shadow Shroud] to improve until I could create solid shapes out of darkness. They could be touched, much like the shadow creatures rods, yet they were not the same.

Mine took longer to materialize because they were not a direct copy and I had to figure out things by myself.

I drew closer to observe the damage, making note of the sharpness of the cuts. Unfortunately, they were not as clean, nor did they go as deeply as I would have liked, and I sighed.

Sure, it would have been easier to recreate the rods, but I decided not to, because doing so would make it that much easier for the shadow creature to counter attack them - it was its skill, after all.

As a result, the technique was not perfect. Mine ended up looking like snake tendrils instead of thin lengthy wires I could spread wide and control. I also needed to figure out how to improve its mana draining properties.

At the moment, the mana drained by them could only increase my stamina, I was yet to figure out how to use this technique to supplement my mana, and better yet, my health. Two things I desperately needed a surplus of.

But ultimately, they were a success.

I could create several at a time and spread them out over an area, making them that much harder to evade. With a bit of extra work, all that would remain was to sort out their 'thinness' or lack thereof.

Again. I had to go again.

My previous flight across the valley revealed more Abyssal monsters than I could count. If every single one of them was the result of the shadow's cruel acts - it needed to be stopped. And I had to be in my best condition to do that.

Two more visits to the shadow realm should be enough to iron out all the kinks in my newly acquired abilities, and by then, my penalty would be over as well. And with my stats back to their full potential - only then would I be able to face the shadow creature properly.

It wasn't long now.

With this in mind, I gave the shadow creature a lasting look across the chasm, before blinking back into the shadow realm.

After some time had passed, another flash of lightning could be seen on the alcove, much further from the jagged edge than before.

This time, my landing was perfect and I stared at my surroundings in glee.

Only four minutes had passed.

With so many improvements, my latest trip couldn't have gone any better if I tried. But as soon as I glanced down, I noticed the shadow creature stood still in its lair.

Then its silhouette turned to look right across the chasm. At me.

My heart thudded loudly and my body went stiff.

There was no way it could see me, right? There was a wall of stone between us - I was only able to see it because of [Mind's Eye].

When I looked down, the Abyssal monster was still present, its eyes closed. Below the valley, everything was the same as before, although it was no longer as noisy. Rather, it was abnormally still.

And yet, the shadow creature remained staring in my direction, and I began to sweat.

My thoughts filled with several possibilities.

Perhaps it wasn't staring at me, but at something else...

But then, I heard the harsh roar of a creature echo from below the chasm, which made the eyes of the Abyssal monster below me flare open in alarm.

My immediate thought was Sylrin - had he woken up?

I prepared to leap down the chasm to find him, only to glimpse a shadow flicker in the corner of my eyes.

But before I could react I was struck by a series of rods that pierced through me with enough force to shatter the ground. I was effectively pinned in place, unable to move as a dark scythe zoomed towards me in a slash that was impossible to avoid.

The shadow creature appeared before me, its empty eyes glowing with wrath. Its powerful aura froze me in place and I could only stare at the oncoming blade like a deer caught in headlights.

But just as the blade came down to slice through my neck, my surroundings exploded in darkness.

Waves of solid tendrils exploded around me in a large mass, each one flat and delicate like silk, yet hard as steel with an equal edge to match. They criss-crossed in front of me, blocking the scythe, and acting as a barrier while I tried to get away.

The shadow creature began to push back the scythe with even more force. Without any hesitation, I broke through the rods piercing me, and threw myself off the chasm's edge to get away from the shadow creature as fast as I could.

Falling from the chasm, I caught a glimpse of its ominous black eyes filled with killing intent. They showed absolutely no mercy, there was no intention of capturing me at all - unlike before.

Part of me wanted to [Blink] away to the shadow realm, but Sylrin was in danger. So for now, it was enough to get away from it.

I spread my wings wide and flew in to the chasm's depths, towards the desperate sounding roar. Did Sylrin take the potion and was raging?

Or did he not take it and came out to find me, and was attacked by the monsters?

However, it wasn't long before I noticed I had company.

As if summoned from across the valley, Abyssal monsters appeared everywhere I looked, all locked in pursuit like hounds from hell.

Those that could fly ambushed me from above, while those that couldn't, lunged at me from below, their attacks so persistent that I had to cut through them with the solid tendrils of [Shadow Shroud].

All the while, the ominous aura of the shadow creature traced its way across the valley with the speed of a meteor. It wasn't even bothering to conceal its presence at this point.

I rushed down the chasm regardless, if Sylrin was healed, it was better to meet up with him than to fight alone. So, I sliced my way through the clamouring creatures, until I reached the bottom.

There, I found an Abyssal drake of the same size with several unhealed scars that looked like they had been inflicted with poison, and I was dazed with shock.

It wasn't Sylrin...was it?

It couldn't be. He was safe and waiting for me in the cave, right?

In the next second, I was attacked from all sides by the creatures present. Including Sylrin.

I was too overwhelmed with shock and disbelief that I didn't even move as the shadow creature materialised among them, and approached me slowly like a reaper of death.

I was too numb to react even as the Abyssal monsters clamped down on me and several clawed at me. Yet, my eyes were fixed on the dark figure of the silly, overgrown lizard that followed me out of the hive, and a spark of fury ignited within me.

How dare they kill Sylrin?

And then, my vision was faded to darkness.