"4 new skills and 15 luck points." Damon looked at his haul after spending another hour in the enchanted forest. With the couple of points he had gained here and there from random, somewhat lucky players, his luck was now a total of 45!

While a single-digit luck stat might not mean much, a double-digit luck stat was something else entirely.

It was a number most players could only dream of. No potion, no crafted gear, no shrine blessing, not even rare artifacts could boost Luck this high unless you were outrageously rich, blessed by RNGesus himself.

At this level, loot drop chances spiked. Critical hits became more consistent. Hidden passages and events? As long as he tried a little, he had a very high chance of obtaining them!

But this much luck was still not enough. To pump the attribute to a level that really mattered, he at least needed to bring it up to three digits or four digits.

Damon exhaled slowly, red eyes gleaming beneath the canopy of the fairy woods. He used Blood Lens and was just about to lock onto another mana signature, likely a fairy with gravity magic when everything changed.

From the treetops, a pulse of darkness burst outward like a silent gun shot.

Damon froze mid-step. His instincts screamed. He immediately activated [Shadowstep] and blinked backwards just as a blade of shadow sliced through the space he'd been in, cracking the moss-covered tree behind him with surgical precision.

A moment later, three figures materialized from the gloom, cloaked in black, their faces hidden behind porcelain masks etched with silver moon crescents.

Their movements were silent, but the pressure they exuded was very real. Murderous aura and killing intent filled the air around them. Only someone who had killed thousands and hundreds of thousands of beings could possess an aura like this.

One of them spoke. "You're not part of the mission, Bloodsucker. Leave. Now."

Damon's lips curved. "And miss out on the fun? I just got here."

Another assassin stepped forward, twin blades crossed behind their back. A faint whisper of shadow coiled around their form, leaking into the air like oil.

"This dungeon is under Umbra's control tonight. Our target is near. You interfere, you die."

"Umbra's huh? That's an interesting name choice." The man's warning words only ended up making Damon more and more interested. Now he had to see if the name was a pure coincidence or if it really had something to do with Umbra.

"Big Daddy Ghost, this might just be your lucky day." Damon chuckled and casually evaded the silent attack the third guy had tossed his way, a dagger in his back, a poisoned dagger at that.

Damon unexpectedly received a notification he hadn't seen in a while.

[Ding! You have gained +1 Poison Resistance]

[Ding! You have acquired 1 new type of poison]

[Ding! You have made small progress in the second cycle of the Nine Million Poison Body Refining Technique]

"Damn, that's good poison." Damon nodded, clicking his tongue. "You guys should definitely be an impressive bunch."

The three assassins silently stared at him as if he was an idiot. Then as if there was no point in talking to a fool, the three signaled among themselves and started their attack. The next second they disappeared into the shadows becoming black blurs.

Damon smirked and did the same. This was going to be an interesting fight.

A heartbeat passed and then the forest exploded. Shadows clashed midair like daggers of midnight colliding against each other.

Damon's body blurred and reappeared half a dozen times in quick succession, dodging and deflecting strikes that came from impossible angles. The Umbra assassins were fast, faster than most players could even track.

"Nice. Very nice." Damon grinned mid-dodge, twisting his body sideways as a blade nicked past his ribs. A counterstrike with a crimson-coated tendril nearly took the masked attacker's head off.

The three assassins no doubt had mad skills. Technically, all three of them were superior to him. Their skills were the real deal. He was truly out of his depth here. That is… if he simply used his shadow skills.

"Sorry guys, its too bad that I don't have more time on hand. I would have loved to fight more with you three." Damon's laugh echoed in the forest.

"Arrogant bloodsucker! Know your place. You should have left the forest while you still had the chance!" One of the assassins shouted. At the same time, the same guy attacked him from another side. Even his words were used as a misdirect with no wasted movement.

However, this time Damon did not even break a sweat to avoid his attack. Instead of the other side, making a move, it was him who made the move and appeared silently behind one of the assassins.

"Didn't you guys notice yet? Your movements have already started to become sluggish…"

The masked assassin flinched, sensing it too late. His legs buckled mid-strike, and his body jerked backward, twitching. A delayed effect. Damon's blood tendrils weren't just brute-force tools, they carried deadly poison.

Even though the poison seemed to be not as effective as it should have been, it still worked fine. Damon easily gripped the man's torso and his hands became a blur as he cleanly severed the head of the assassin, completely draining the blood essence from his body.

"You are good. I will give you that. You seemed to have undergone all sorts of training but it is still not enough."

The second assassin blurred into view with a triple slash aimed for Damon's midsection, but the attacks passed through a flickering afterimage. Damon reappeared behind him, arm dipped in blackened blood, shadows coiling around his wrist like a curse.

The assassin only had a moment to stare at Damon before he too was easily put down.

The third assassin became shocked. "The shadow magic you use… it can't be…"

"Oh?" Damon raised a brow. "So you recognize it? Then all of this is really worth it." With a grin he took care of the last guy as well.

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