"Oh right, I almost forgot," Vale muttered as he glanced back at the slain creature.
He drove his weapon deep into its abdomen and sliced it open. Inside, a large mana crystal lay nestled within the mess of flesh and organs.
He had nearly forgotten about it—mostly because mana crystals were of little use to him, aside from feeding his so-called unique ability.
Unwilling to waste any more time digging through the creature's remains, he stretched out his hand. Without any command, the dark spark materialized.
It devoured the crystal effortlessly, its form growing slightly before vanishing just as quickly.
"Good to see you too," Vale muttered, watching the spark disappear.
He sighed deeply as he turned and made his way toward the ominous, towering door at the front of the structure.
It was made of wood, reinforced with some type of white metal. Its width and height were far greater than what a human would need—not a good sign, if you asked Vale. But he didn't have much of a choice.
It was either the unknown behind the tower's entrance or the devilish monster he had seen earlier. He had no desire to face that thing again.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and gripped one of the massive handles, pulling it toward him.
A deep, grating screech of rusted metal echoed from within the tower as he forced the door open. He felt immense resistance—whether from the rusted mechanisms inside or the sheer weight of the door itself, he couldn't tell.
However, after some effort, he finally managed to pry the door open.
A cold breeze swept past him from within, sending a shiver down his spine. And then—his eyes widened at the sight before him.
A floor of polished white marble stretched ahead, seamlessly meeting pristine white bricks that formed the tower's walls. Silver ornaments adorned the entire space, reflecting the dim light and giving the hall an almost ethereal glow. It looked more like the interior of a royal castle than something from the Demon Realm.
At the heart of the hall stood a dark statue. Constructed from battle-worn armour, its form was rigid and imposing, as if frozen in time. The figure leaned against a long, double-edged sword, its weight resting upon the blade as though it had stood vigil for decades.
A deep frown crossed his face as he took it all in.
This wasn't what he had expected.
Dungeons, chains, rusted metal, and lurking monsters—that was what he had prepared for. Instead, he was staring at a grand hall eerily similar to the royal estate he had grown up in.
He took a cautious step inside, his grip tightening around his weapon as he braced for the worst.
The moment his foot touched the marble floor, the sharp rattle of metal echoed through the hall.
The dark statue moved.
The fearsome black armour shifted, the sound of metal moving echoed as the two crimson-red eyes gleamed from being the helmet's visor, burning with an unnatural intensity.
Then—a deep voice spoke from behind the visor.
"One after another, challengers fell beneath the blade of my sword…as I awaited his return…"
"...My body rotted, then turned to ash, but my soul persisted…"
"...Centuries passed as I continued to follow his last command…"
The dark knight shifted, pointing the long sword toward Vale.
"...Slain all who enter"
Before Vale's eyes could even fully widen, the black knight dashed forward with impossible speed.
Instinct took over. He stumbled backwards, desperately trying to create distance, but it was useless—the armoured figure was already upon him, its sword raised high.
Vale braced himself for the worst, his eyes locked on the weapon, but...nothing happened.
The figure didn't move.
Seconds stretched into minutes as the dark knight stood there, motionless.
Vale slowly got up on his feet, his eyes watching the sword of the knight carefully. It stood just before the doorstep while he fell to the outside of the tower.
After trying to move side to side Vale realised that the creature, although was watching, ready to attack—did not strike.
"What the hell is going on?" he thought.
"Hello?" he said, trying to see if perhaps that thing was human or at least understood him, but no response came.
He lingered for a few more moments, until the dark knight walked away, sheaving its longsword.
He stared inside, meeting the crimson red eyes of the dark knight, and just as he was about to take the step inside, he saw the knight shift, ready to strike. Vale moved back, unwilling to test the knight any further.
What downed him the most was the knight's ability to speak. No Awakened monster should be able to speak. Only some Corrupted monsters were said to have the ability to speak, and even among them it was beyond rare.
At least Vale was sure that the knight wasn't a Demon—or else he would've been long dead.
"What is it protecting?" thought Vale, before a sudden realisation crossed his mind.
"Wait…"
He has just realised that he did not check what his Awakening Quest was. Wasting no time, he summoned the Status Window.
*****
Name: Vale
Core: Dormant
Core Rank: [ E, 5/250 ]
Artifacts: [ Ordinary Katana, Titan's Ring, Fire Cloak ]
Relics: [ Four-Eyed Raven ]
Abilities: [ Vine Bind ]
Unique Ability: [ Ravenous Spark ]
Quest: [ Wanderer's Revenge ]
*****
His focus shifted toward the Quest.
Quest Description: [ A lone wanderer traversed the Demon Realm in search of ------, slaughtered by the tower's keeper he left his will as a reward for his revenge. ]
Quest Reward: [ Wanderer's will ]
"Reward?"
Confusion spread across Vale's face as he reread the line of text multiple times.
"It says reward… right?"
He had never heard of receiving a reward for a quest.
Quests were requirements one had to fulfil in order to return to the world of the living. That was when the real reward came—becoming Awakened was far greater than any item one could obtain.
Then why?
Why was this different?
"Is it because of this Wanderer?"
"Wait… Tower Keeper?" he muttered as his eyes shifted toward the dark knight standing in the middle of a royal hall, waiting for him to step a foot inside.
"Kill the Tower Keeper..."
Vale continued to eye the ominous figure as doubt crept in. He had no chance of winning—at least not at his current strength. Perhaps if he were Awakened, he'd stand a chance, but with a Dormant core, what was he supposed to do?
But before he could answer his own thoughts and doubts, an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind.
"Vale?"