MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

141 A Fallen Angel and a Bone Dragon

Leo struggled to breathe as the massive weight of the wolf bore down on him. Realizing that the beast had no intention of moving, he was forced to absorb him into his beast tattoo.

Taking in a deep breath Leo let out a deep sigh of relief, grateful to have avoided any serious injury. He quickly checked over his limbs, flexing and moving each one, making sure they were still intact.

Leo shot a glance at Ava, who was peeking at him through her thick eyelashes.

“Is the demon’s horn its weakness?”

She whispered, her lips curling slightly at the corners. Despite the flutter in his heart at the sight of her smile, Leo felt trapped in the grasp of a monster.

“Yes, it’s similar to the ears of elves or wings of angels...”

Clicking his tongue, Leo shifted his gaze from Ava to the sharp bone blades protruding from his elbows.

‘How do I control this?’

Leo focused on willing the blades to retract, and to his surprise, they began to shrink in size, although they didn’t completely retract back into his arms. At least, he wouldn’t accidentally hurt anyone by simply walking around.

.....

He noticed Ava surreptitiously glancing at him, or more specifically at his mask, and frowned.

‘Does she have a fetish with horns like Tia does?’

He felt a chill run down his spine as he remembered the contract he had made with Tia and realized that the next month was fast approaching.

“Avoid touching the demon’s horns... they are quite sensitive.”

Leo hoped that Ava wouldn’t turn out to be like Tia. He had already resigned himself to the fact that Eli was a character of her own. Which girl would choose to be an Orc?

Leo wanted to get confirmation from Ava that she wouldn’t repeat her actions, but she simply kept glancing at him, remaining silent.

“Hello?”

Leo called out, gesturing with his hand adorned with sharp bones. As he angled his hand in a certain way, his blades suddenly slid out and pierced the nearby wall, but did not destroy it.

“!!!”

Ava jumped back and Leo gazed at his sharp bones, now embedded in the sturdy surface of the wall. He gestured for Ava to keep her distance, so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt her before quickly opening his Status.

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Leo’s eyes were immediately drawn to his new Race. He felt a smile spreading on his face, but since his expressions were obscured by the mask, Ava couldn’t tell.

“Is everything alright?”

She queried with a concerned look, her gaze fixed on Leo. She had deduced that Leo had grown stronger but she was uncertain if he would lose control again.

Leo heard her soft voice and focused on retracting his blades, aware that she was still watching him closely.

“I won’t lose control again, it was a one-time occurrence”

Leo attempted to reassure her, but his attention was drawn to her face, which was slightly flushed.

“Ughmm...”

She muttered, pointing towards his abdomen before covering her eyes and quickly leaving the house. Leo could see her slightly pointed elven ears, now completely dyed red, and black wings, which were trembling slightly.

‘???’

Leo looked where Ava was pointing and momentarily froze as he realized that his Shadow Robe and clothes were almost shredded, revealing his chiseled abs and chest. If his blades had been a centimeter longer, he would have lost his pants as well.

Leaning his head against the wall, he cursed, swallowing the embarrassment and letting it fuel his curses.

He was already planning to visit Kilgros to repair his Eerie Staff and Shadow Robe, but now the cost would be significantly higher due to the condition one of his items was in.

‘Stupid bone control, I can’t even save my clothes from my own ability...’

.....

Cursing under his breath, Leo quickly logged out and back in, restoring his clothes to their previous state.

Leo was about to leave the house when he noticed a broken mirror. Approaching the piece of furniture, he looked at one of the shattered pieces laying on the ground. He picked it up and dusted off its surface wanting to look at his reflection.

Two purple eyes met his gaze, they were glowing in the dark, giving off an eerie and mysterious aura. They were the eyes of a monster, and an intelligent one at that.

Leo imagined spreading his Shadow Realm and emerging from the darkness, his eyes the only thing shining in the complete cover of the shadows. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

‘Tomorrow you have to wake up early...’

He reminded himself. Scratching his mask, Leo placed the shard on a table untouched by his rampage and left the house, knowing he would probably never see it again.

He immediately spotted Ava, who was stretching her wings, her back turned towards him. Every black feather glistening in the red sunlight gave her an otherworldly appearance, almost causing Leo to stumble.

He wanted to sneak up on her and whisper something into her ear, making her jump in surprise. Unfortunately, he had to abandon his plan since she could sense him due to her high Sense stat, and he lacked any skills for concealment.

Making loud footsteps to alert Ava of his presence, he walked towards her, causing her ocean-blue eyes to turn towards him. Leo noticed her slightly pink cheeks as she surreptitiously glanced at his clothes, but shrugged it off.

‘Maybe she likes the brand’

Gesturing towards the wall that separated them from the desert, Leo quickly explained to Ava that the portal leading them back could only be found in the desert.

Leo didn’t say anything else, but since they found ‘The Great Wall of Hell’ he could already pinpoint the location of a Portal. It wouldn’t even take an hour to reach it at the speed they are walking.

...

They traveled in silence, but Leo felt it was for the best. He could feel Ava gazing at his back, but chose to ignore it. He had to survive another half an hour and a Guardian fight before he could escape from her alluring beauty. He could already make out the shape of a pyramid in the distance, his heart rate increasing with every step he took forward.

“Get ready, the guardian will show up soon...”

As they climbed to the top of the structure, they saw that the platform was empty. Suddenly, the red sand was lifted as something materialized in front of them. The monster had long limbs, a muscular body covered in red fur, was in the shape of a dog and had purple eyes, similar to Leo’s.

Leo could feel Ava glancing at him and the dog, trying to hold back the giggle that was threatening to escape from her mouth which she covered with her hands.

He felt his mood deteriorating and slid out one of his blades and covered it with white flames, whilst his other hand held a Shadow Blast. To fight a high-level monster, Leo was planning to use his only spell that bypassed MDEF and PDEF.

As Ava laughed, Leo fought the guardian, but soon his annoyance turned into fuel for his strikes, allowing him to chase the agile dog around the platform and cut off its escape paths as it tried to run away from the fight.

The portal guardians are known for their diversity, from being very strong to agile. Luckily, this one was just very fast and couldn’t do a lot of damage, allowing Leo to abuse the player’s right to drink MP potions and win the battle of attrition against the monster.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked towards Ava, who was just staring at him with a small smile. She could’ve helped him, but Leo asked her not to intervene, he wanted to kill the dog-like monster by himself.

Even though the experience gain was enough to level him up, Leo didn’t even bat an eye or celebrate, instead he immediately put all his SP into the INT attribute.

Today had been a frustrating day, and except for gaining a new race and an ability to tear his clothes, he had gained nothing of value. The embarrassment of Ava seeing him almost naked, the extra cost he would have to pay to repair his items, and the fact that his body was controlled by his ego, all added to his disappointment.

He felt like all the progress he had made today was overshadowed by these negative experiences.

Leo laid on the ground, looking at the engraving shining on the platform.

“Just a few more minutes and we can escape...”

He spoke aloud, so Ava could hear him. His mind was already drifting to thoughts of his comfortable pillow and warm blanket, when he suddenly caught the scent of rain in the air.

“Huhh?”

He turned his head to see Ava comfortably laying beside him.