More notifications appeared before him, glowing softly in the air. Riley's lips curled upward, his smirk returning.

[Skill Dark Shroud has evolved into "Shadow Shroud"]

[New Trait Gained: Friend of the Dark (S-rank)]

[Description: All attributes and attack damage increased by 200% during the dark.]

Riley's smirk deepened.

"Shadow Shroud, that's what the clone was using, he muttered, his eyes narrowing faintly.

It made sense now. The shroud around the clone had been very different from his, as it had a purplish hue to it, which was native to the shadow.

Its power was also leagues above [Dark Shroud], causing many of his attacks to bounce off like they were nothing.

His gaze flicked to the next notification, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Increased by 200%?" he muttered aloud.

His breath hitched slightly, and the smirk on his face gave way to a brief, stunned silence.

'I'll practically be unstoppable.'

No wonder it was marked as S-rank.

Not just twenty or even fifty percent, but a whopping 200% boost in attributes and attack damage!

As long as he was in the dark, his strength would triple. Every hit he landed, every movement, every skill amplified to monstrous levels.

'If had this back when I fought that clone, the fight would've been over in seconds,' he thought, clenching his fist again.

However, he couldn't help but wonder how things would have turned out if the shadow clone had this same trait during their fight.

There would have being zero chance of him winning.

Fortunately, it seemed the clone had only been limited to the shadow aura and shadow shroud, which had still been very annoying to go against.

And that was the terrifying part.

This wasn't a one-time buff.

This was a trait.

A permanent modifier, active under the right conditions.

All he needed was a dark area, and he would become a different beast entirely.

'With this, I could turn entire battles on their heads.'

He paused, still reeling in surprise at how much power he now wielded.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, then muttered under his breath.

'Status window.'

[Player ID: A Random]

[Level: 13(4160/7000)]

[Profession: Assassin]

[Class: Shadow Assassin(SSS)]

[Talent(s): Gluttony (SSS), Ironblood Fighter(B)]

[Trait(s): Lesser Regeneration (C-rank), Friend of Darkness(S-rank)]

[Title(s): Wolf Slayer(Uncommon), Hungry Demon(Epic)]

[H/P: 11783 <Vitality X 10>]

[M/P: 12402 <Mana X 10>]

[Magic Damage: 1240.2 <Mana X 1>]

[Physical Damage: 1300.2 <Strength X 1>]

[Magic Resistance: 1240.2 <Mana X 1>]

[Physical Resistance: 1298.5 <Endurance X 1>]

[Attributes: Strength: 1300.2{+50}; Agility: 1445.7{+110}; Vitality: 1178.3{+50}; Mana: 1240.2{+100}; Endurance: 1298.5{+50}]

[Skills]

[Stealth(level 8)], [Spike Shot(level 3)], [Dash(level 3)], [Charge(level 5)], [Fireball(level 2)], [Rockbound(level 3)], [Shadow Shroud(level 1)], [Ghost Slash(level 3)], [Lunge(level 3)], [Basic Alchemy(level 1)], [Face Mask(level 2)], [Blood Poison Mist(level 1)], [Crop Harvest(level 1)], [Strength Boost(level 1)]

[Attribute Points Available: 418]

[Skill Points Available: 229]

[Equipment: Basic Cloth Shirt, Basic Leather Pants, Swift Boots(Uncommon), Storage Ring(Rare), Whispering Bracelet(Rare), Dark Fanged Daggers(Epic), Hito's Whisper(Rare), Champion Armour Set(Rare), Novice Village Map(Rare), Champion's Bracelet(Rare)]

Riley's lips curled slightly as he stared at his status window.

A quiet flicker of satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.

'Not bad… not bad at all.'

Several of his skills had levelled up during the brutal fight with the shadow clone.

[Stealth] and [Charge] had both climbed two levels each, clearly from the repeated activations and sheer tension of that high-speed battle. Even [Ghost Slash], [Lunge], and [Rockbound] had gained a level each.

He nodded slowly.

Not surprising. That entire battle had pushed him past his limits, forced him to use everything he had—again and again.

But what really made his smirk widen were the two points displayed just above his [Equipment]

418 attribute points.

229 skill points.

That was the reward from just three levels.

And now… he could allocate them however he wanted.

His stats were already monstrous thanks to the huge number of monsters and NPCs he had devoured, but now—with these additional points…

He would get even stronger.

He tilted his head, eyes flickering with thought as he skimmed over his stats again.

The power he had now was ridiculous for someone who had barely reached level 13.

And it was only the beginning.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he pondered how should allocate his points between his attributes.

Riley narrowed his eyes slightly, then muttered under his breath,

"Add 50 points to Strength."

A soft chime rang out as a glowing tab flashed before him.

[+50 Attribute Points allocated to Strength]

He nodded once, satisfied, then began allocating the rest in the way he felt was best for him.

[+60 Attribute Points allocated to Agility]

[+100 Attribute Points allocated to Vitality]

[+100 Attribute Points allocated to Mana]

[+60 Attribute Points allocated to Endurance]

The moment the final confirmation appeared, a warm, tingling pulse swept through his body.

It wasn't overwhelming.

In fact, it was subtle—barely more than a ripple beneath the skin.

But it was there.

And he felt it.

He clenched his fists slowly, watching the veins in his forearms tighten ever so slightly as a rush of strength surged through him.

It was nothing compared to the addictive high he felt whenever he activated Gluttony.

But it was still satisfying.

A clear, undeniable sign that he had gotten a bit stronger.

Riley exhaled softly, allowing his hands to fall to his sides.

There was a reason he had chosen to allocate the points this way.

His Vitality and Mana had always been lagging just a bit behind the rest of his stats.

He had poured most of his earlier gains into Strength and Agility, focusing on raw attack power and speed. And for the most part, it had paid off.

But now?

Now he had too many skills, and each one with its own cost.

There were also some of his skills which required mana every second, taking more than an average skill would in the long run.

Without sufficient mana, he wouldn't be able to use them freely in prolonged battles.

And without enough vitality…

He wouldn't be able to last long against someone stronger than him.

He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he was invincible—not yet.

Power like this only meant something if he could use it fully and survive the consequences.

That was what the points were for.

And now that he had balanced them better, he felt far more prepared for what came next.

'Class details.' Riley thought, eager to see the full details of his new class.

[Class details: Shadow Assassin(unique SSS)]

[Description: You have embraced your origin, awakening as an invisible assassin who strikes and rules over the shadow.]

[Effect 1: Shadow Sovereign(level 1)] — you have complete control over the shadows, and shadow aura. You can freely manipulate it, creating constructs and whatever you want depending on effect's level and your mana. Your strength also increases exponentially while in the dark.

[Effect 2: Shadow Hop(level 1)] — you can hop into and out of shadow's around you, easily assassinating your targets. Note: effect's less effective against those far stronger than you.

[Effect 3: Shadow Mark(level 1)] — place a mark on any target of your choice. Marked targets have their power reduced by 50% when fighting against you, and all attack damage against marked opponents' boosted by 50%. Current Target Max: 5

[Effect 4: Shadow Domain(level 1)] — a domain of shadows ruled by you. In this domain, your regeneration is boosted 500%, and your attributes boosted 300%. You can drag any target of your choice into this domain. Current domain size: 30 square meters. Max amount of living targets that can be contained: 5 Note: severe damage done to the domain would drastically affect your health and mana reserves.

[Effect 5: Shadow Clone(level 1)] — create a shadow clone that can exhibit 100 percent of your strength. You can also create more than one, but the percentage of power exhibited would be greatly reduced. Current max: 5 Note: this effects consumes enormous amounts of mana, and shouldn't be used carelessly.

Riley's jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he finished reading through his class details.

Everything about it—every effect, every line—felt like it had been ripped straight out of a dream.

A very overpowered dream.

"SSS-rank classes… are in a whole class of their own," he thought, eyes slightly trembling.

The effects weren't just impressive.

They were insane.

[Shadow Sovereign] alone gave him absolute control over shadows and shadow aura.

[Shadow Hop] gave him an assassination mechanic better than [Stealth] ever could.

[Shadow Mark] let him cripple his enemies and hit harder at the same time. [Shadow Domain] practically turned him into a walking raid boss.

And then—

Then came the final effect.

[Shadow Clone].

Riley's pupils dilated.

"So I can manifest that shadow clone on my own now?"

A slow, dark smirk crept onto his lips as memories of the brutal fight resurfaced.

That clone had nearly ended him.

It had overwhelmed him, matched him in speed, precision, and pure killing intent.

And now… he could create one?

And not some watered-down version, either. The default was a perfect replica—100% of his strength, speed, and skills.

He clenched his fists slightly, breathing out in disbelief.

The stronger he got, the stronger the clones would become.

It was a scaling ability—meaning there was no cap, no hard limit, no uselessness over time!

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