Crazy Blood Demon

Before starting his training, Bob remembered something—choosing a supporter. He had previously told himself he would think it over, but it had slipped his mind. Now, as he considered his options, Night Whisperer seemed like the best choice. Not only had Night Whisperer intervened in the real world before, but he also seemed to know something about the crown Bob had acquired. Bob remembered receiving a message hinting that Night Whisperer might hold some knowledge about it.

Bob summoned Addak, who appeared pleased that Bob was finally ready to choose a supporter.

A system window popped up in front of Bob, displaying around 20 watcher names. Naturally, Bob's growing popularity had earned him a wide range of admirers.

[You have chosen Night Whisperer as your supporter]

[Night Whisperer accepts your decision]

[You have gained the Supporter: Night Whisperer]

[They have gifted you 100000 coins as a welcome gift]

[You've received the title: Selected by Night Whisperer]

[Night Whisperer sent you the skill as another gift: Night Needles]

[From now on, Night Whisperer will observe you and send you messages]

[Night Whisperer considers your choice of selecting him commendable]

Bob stared at the system message confirming Night Whisperer as his supporter. The gifts were generous—too generous. The coins, the skill, the title—each one a reminder that nothing came for free.

"What's your angle?" Bob muttered though he knew there'd be no answer. Night Whisperer was watching now, always watching. He could feel the weight of those unseen eyes, and for a brief moment, he wondered if trading 60 watchers for one supporter was truly a victory. Danzel had taught him that nothing was free, but lately, that notion had been crumbling in Bob.

Bob was quite pleased that only Night Whisperer would observe him from now on. The constant attention of around 60 beings watching him at all times had been uncomfortable. Curious to see the gifts he had received, Bob opened his stats and clicked on the Selected by Night Whisperer title.

[Selected by Night Whisperer]

You asked Night Whisperer to be your supporter and he accepted.

You have a second Africa, and it is to darkness. Also, dark skills give 10% more damage; attacks with Dark Africa will give you 10% less damage. Also, monsters with less than 40 IQ and darkness affinity will not attack you.

Bob asked Remo about his new affinity, and it was confirmed—he now had two affinities. Remo explained that since Bob's original affinity, Chaos, was incredibly rare, finding Chaos-related skills would be difficult. Without the new Darkness affinity, Bob would primarily rely on neutral mana skills, which tend to be weak. Strong neutral mana skills are exceptionally rare. Furthermore, Remo noted that the Darkness affinity itself was rare.

Bob now understood why Addak had given him such a strange look when he had delayed choosing a supporter earlier.

[Night Needles]

Rarity:Uncommon

Consumption:25 mana

Level:1

Affinity:Darkness

From your hand, four dark orbs form into four dark needles, which can be launched at your enemy. The more needles that hit the target, the greater the damage dealt by Night Needles.

[Next level: 25,000 XP]

When Bob saw the mana cost, his eyes widened in disbelief—25 mana?! That was nearly the same as Echo Blade. Why did all skills have to be so mana-expensive? It seemed like Bob's combat style would continue to rely on raw strength.

After calming himself, Bob began his training. He trained relentlessly, dedicating nearly all of the remaining 55 hours to improving himself. In practical terms, he trained for 46 hours straight, earning 1,380 XP

-- --

During those three days, Night Sun managed to reach a point where 95% of its members were level 5 or higher, leaving only 5% below that threshold. This shift occurred because most of the higher-level members looked down on those who hadn't reached level 5, which created resentment. Additionally, the looming pressure of the next scenario pushed the weaker members to seek any chance to improve their odds of survival, prompting most of them to venture out and hunt monsters.

Condor, not wanting to suffer heavy losses, stationed a few strong individuals to train while also overseeing the weaker members to ensure they weren't killed. As a result, the losses were minimal, amounting to only one casualty.

Meanwhile, the commander who had harassed a girl earlier had now taken her as his slave, essentially turning her into a sexual captive. Condor was naturally displeased with this and tried subtle methods to convince the commander to stop, but nothing worked. To avoid the risk of a rebellion, he decided to keep the situation a secret. Condor feared that if word got out about survivors being enslaved, it could spark an uprising, which he was desperate to avoid.

Punishing the commander—whether publicly or privately—was also risky. It could jeopardize his relationship with the general, who might then orchestrate a revolt or similar unrest. To avoid such dangers, Condor chose to stay silent and not take any action. Meanwhile, he levelled up to Level 9.

-- --

Bob found himself in an endless white room, standing before Tunny.

After training, Bob realized he still had some time, so he decided to test Tunny's skills and learn how to fight alongside him. Since time didn't exist in this space, he didn't need to worry about the third scenario starting while they trained.

Bob asked Remo if Tunny had weakened after being transformed. Remo explained that Tunny had lost about 5% of his strength. The older the corpse is when it's transformed, the more power it loses. Since Bob had begun transforming Tunny immediately after his death, there should have been no strength loss. However, creating the core had taken Bob longer than expected, causing the corpse to age slightly.

Tunny then demonstrated his skills to Bob:

1. Summoning Arm: Tunny could conjure an arm from any part of his body. The arm could be as short as 1 cm or extend up to 2 meters.

2. Explosive Spikes: He could generate small, pulsing spikes resembling stone. Tunny could summon up to 15 spikes at once, and when they struck an enemy, they exploded.

3. Pressure Accumulation: He could build up pressure in his arm or leg, significantly increasing the power of an attack. However, this consumed a large amount of mana. This skill was essentially a weaker version of Bob's Charge.

When they had fought earlier, Tunny had combined two of these skills. He had conjured a 1 cm arm from his chest so Bob wouldn't notice, then built up pressure in it. Once fully charged and with Bob close, Tunny extended the arm to 1 meter and struck Bob with full force.

Bob then asked Tunny if he had any memories of his previous life. Tunny replied that he only remembered appearing in the tunnel, attacking people, and fighting Bob.

Their joint training began with Remo's help. Since Remo could take any form and become as powerful as needed, Bob requested that he become a Beginner Pioneer.

The first hour of their training was disastrous—they clashed awkwardly, and their attacks were ineffective. By the second hour, things improved slightly, and by the third hour, they were fighting together seamlessly.

Bob bid farewell to Tunny and returned to his green zone, where he waited patiently for the third scenario to begin.