17 Hello

As Kaden focused his thoughts on activating the skill, a surge of unfamiliar energy coursed through his body. The ground beneath him trembled ever so slightly, and his surroundings seemed to darken as shadows coalesced around him. A faint, ominous aura emanated from his figure.

Kaden's breath quickened as he waited with bated breath. This was the first summoning skill he was executing, and he couldn't wait to see what was going to pop out, especially because the pomp and show were a bit too exaggerated. There was a goddamn black vortex forming in front of him.

The next second, with a sudden burst of energy, this vortex exploded, and the shadows dissipated, revealing a small and scrappy creature. Standing at a mere knee-high height, the creature possessed a compact and wiry frame, exuding an air of malevolence.

Its skin, a deep shade of obsidian black, appeared slick and slightly iridescent as if perpetually coated in a thin layer of slick oil. Sinewy muscles hinted at its nimbleness, and its limbs, though thin, seemed to possess a deceptive strength, each digit ending in needle-like claws.

As the creature emerged from the dissipating shadows, it locked eyes with Kaden, its piercing gaze filled with intelligence. Its facial features were sharp and angular, and two glowing red eyes gleamed with an eerie aura.

<Ding!>

A notification echoed in Kaden's mind, signaling the completion of the summoning process and the acquisition of his new companion.

"Well, hello there." Kaden grinned, giving the creature a thumbs up. "An imp, huh… Not bad. You look scary enough."

He had heard about beast summons before, and he had also heard about dark mage skills that could summon demons for a short time period, but this was the first time he was seeing a demon being summoned for a permanent bond.

That too, it was an abyss imp!

Kaden laughed in amusement at the imp's twisted grin, revealing a row of sharp, pointed teeth. With its small body frame, the pair of small, pointed horns that curved backward, and its pair of tattered wings, resembling the leathery appendages of a bat, the little guy looked particularly scrappy.

"Let's call you Scrap."

The creature seemed to react to its newly given name, its eyes gleaming with approval. Scrap tilted its head slightly as if acknowledging the name, and a low rumbling growl emanated from its throat.

It circled around Kaden, examining him with curiosity. It was also twitching and fidgeting as if it was restless and brimming with an irrepressible urge to do something. It hopped from foot to foot, its movements quick and jittery, never staying still for more than a moment.

"He He. You like your name, huh? Let's see what you can do!" Kaden pulled up the status screen for the Imp.

Name: Scrap

Level: 1

Race: Creature of the Abyss

Health: 100/100

Mana: 150/150

Stamina: 50/50

Strength: 10

Agility: 15

Intelligence: 8

Defense: 5

Skills:

Claw Slash: Delivers a quick and precise claw attack, dealing damage to the target.

Dark Bolt: Unleashes a bolt of dark energy toward the target, dealing magical damage and potentially inflicting a debuff.

Evasive Maneuvers (Passive): Natural agility and nimbleness enhance evasive capabilities, increasing the chances of dodging incoming attacks.

Shadow Affinity (Passive): Affinity for the shadows grants increased effectiveness in dark and dimly lit environments.

Dark Affinity (Passive): Affinity for the dark element increases damage output by 5%

Kaden blinked in shock as he went through the skill list for the imp. The creature was only level 1, and it already had quite a good arsenal of skills. The thing had a better starting point than he ever had. How was this summoning skill so powerful?!

"Alright, Scrap, let's put those skills to the test, shall we?" Kaden said, his voice filled with determination. His gaze shifted back to the guild group as he watched them keenly. The imp responded with a mischievous cackle, its voice high-pitched and filled with villainous energy.

The two of them observed the group of players from the sidelines, but it looked like there was going to be some waiting time before the White wolf showed up.

Kaden decided to check out the title and the quest he received from the creepy place in the meantime. If the summoning skill was this overpowered, then the title and the quest should equally be overpowered?

He first pulled up the title.

Mark of the Abyss: The mark of the abyss brands you as a bearer of chaos, forever entwined with the sinister forces that lurk in the shadows and darkness.

"Ok…" Kaden clicked his tongue and closed it. It did not seem to do anything in particular, at least for now. Maybe down the road, there would be some significance?

He then opened up the quest.

Quest Description:

The ancient and powerful Tome of Eternal Darkness, a repository of forbidden knowledge, has been sundered into scattered pages, lost to the ravages of time and chaos. Your mission is to embark on a perilous journey to seek out and retrieve these lost pages, piecing them together in the correct order to restore the complete Tome of Eternal Darkness. Delve into the darkest corners of the world, overcome challenges, decipher cryptic clues, and confront formidable guardians to unravel the secrets held within its pages.

Quest Progress: 1/100 pages collected

Quest Reward - ???

"Huh?" Kaden scratched his head. "Could this be any more cryptic?"

What was this book? Where were these pages located? Where should he even begin to search for this? He knew absolutely nothing, and the quest didn't do much to help.

However, Kaden could tell that the quest in itself was very valuable and a reward. His current progress was 1/100, which meant that there were a total of 100 pages, and he already had one page in his possession.

This one page had to be the parchment he looted from that creepy place. It was a page that belonged to the Tome, and at the same time, it had given him an amazing skill.

If what he thought was correct, then every page should give him an equally overpowered skill? Well, overpowered could be too good to be true, but it should give him one or the other skill, at least.

Kaden rubbed his chin in contemplation while his gaze returned back to the group of players. There seemed to be finally some sort of movement in that area. He closed the system interface and prepared to join in on the fun.

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