Talent Awakening! Every Legendary Summon Grants Me Assassin Attributes-Chapter 42: Who Is Looking At Me? The Spy

A little while after Bai Mina had left Oliver in the forest, he finally chose to return after his two summons had their fill of the corpse of the Fallen Disaster.

"Hope you had your fill now? And I hope you both provide great skills for me, your master, to use—especially you, devious snake. For all our sakes." He whispered the last part.

The Crow seemed almost amused by Oliver’s words, already used to his nature, which leaned heavily towards greed. Yes... he was greedy, ambitious, and damned self-aware to admit it.

Meanwhile, the snake simply shrugged before nodding, as if acknowledging a business agreement rather than a command.

Not long after, he dismissed both summons and began to move through the dark forest, heading back to the Base so he could log off from the game.

Teleporting back to reality from anywhere outside the Base cost about a thousand Karma Points, and Oliver was not about to give up his hard-earned points. Not when he could simply trek through the entirety of the forest himself.

After all, he could bet he was the most dangerous thing that existed here at the moment.

"Even the Dark Crow can solo-raid the entire forest," he paused, squinting slightly. "I think."

After a long trek through the forest, he encountered only a few Realm Beasts. Each of which he easily dispatched using the Dark Crow.

Strangely, Oliver felt the familiarity of this power. Yes, this was the feeling of overwhelming strength. One that meant he had little to no use for the First realm anymore.

The kind of feeling that whispered, he had already won to every battle.

’Unless an army of S-ranked monsters or something invades this forest, I might never reach level thirteen,’ Oliver thought, finally arriving at the gates of Alkarya.

The place seemed almost... empty.

Which was expected, Given that not many players risked going outside to grind during the night, as some creatures had a tendency to grow more powerful and far more unpredictable, under the effects of the night.

To avoid losing life points aimlessly, it was simply safer to log back in during the morning.

Not for all. Others saw this as an opportunity to have the entire Forest to themselves.

Oliver clicked his tongue, continuing forward for a few meters into the Base before stopping in his tracks. He decided to log off right then and there.

However... something felt off.

It was subtle at first—a prickling sensation crawling up his spine, like cold fingers dragging lazily across his nerves.

It felt as though someone was behind him.

But when he turned to check, there was nothing.

Nothing but the shallow wind brushing against his face.

’Am I being paranoid?’ he thought, lingering for a moment, waiting... watching... expecting something, anything to move.

But nothing did.

All he saw were players drifting in and out of the massive gates, their chatter dull and ordinary. Safe.

"Don’t tell me I’ve started to run mad." Oliver groaned softly, brushing off the feeling. Then he tapped on the system notification and logged off, his body fading from where he stood as he returned to the real world.

Although...

Something strange had taken place immediately after his disappearance.

Down on the ground, where Oliver had once stood...

His shadow remained.

It flickered under the dim torchlight mounted along the walls and scattered houses of the Base, twitching like a living thing caught between decisions.

It stayed unmoving for a few moments, as though it were... thinking.

Then it shuddered.

And moved.

It slipped across the ground, silent and unnaturally fast, darting through the Base, past oblivious players, and out through the gates into the thick forest beyond.

At some point during its escape, it became faster.

Faster... and faster... until it no longer seemed to run, but glide. No, it flew, skimming over the wide arrays of trees and narrow streams that dared stand in its path.

It traveled far, up until it escaped the borders of Alkarya and found itself in a bizzare place.

There, hidden deep within this forsaken stretch of land, stood the mouth of a cave, concealed behind a roaring waterfall.

And within that cave...

The shadow finally stopped.

It rose upright for a brief moment as the deafening crash of water filled the air, echoing endlessly against jagged stone walls.

Then, almost reverently...

It fell to one knee.

And bowed.

Oliver’s shadow... bowed.

To what exactly, that was unknown.

Seconds passed.

Then—

A chuckle.

Low.

Heavy.

Rotting with malevolent amusement, echoed through the cave like a curse given voice. A laughter that sounded human... yet unmistakably corrupted.

What followed were powerful footfalls.

Each step sent vibrations through the cave, the walls trembling as though the structure itself feared collapse under the presence approaching from the darkness.

Then, finally...

The being stopped.

Moonlight filtered through the waterfall, illuminating only the lower half of its body.

Brown trousers.

Well-crafted leather shoes.

Human.

At least... on the surface.

Beside him stood two others.

Of which one of them stepped forward, moving past the others and onto the shadow itself. He crouched slightly, examining it with keen interest before letting out a low whistle.

"Wow... I’m surprised. So Oliver is the Crow," he said, a faint frown forming across his face.

"I don’t care, who he is Kyle Aran!" the man in the brown trousers snapped, turning toward the third figure.

That third figure stood still, draped in an all-black suit. The only striking detail was the diamond chain resting around his neck, from which hung a golden tiger ornament that gleamed faintly in the dim light.

Kyle’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Father, you were right. Just because he’s a summoner doesn’t mean he’s weak."

He rose to his full height and spat at the shadow.

It shuddered slightly, its form distorting as though it could feel the disgust behind the act.

"Thank goodness I’m not left behind," Kyle added, almost casually—though there was something bitter lurking beneath his tone.

Lord Aran rubbed his grey beard thoughtfully before turning to the other man.

"You will have all the resources you wanted. And our deal still stands, since your end of the bargain is... sufficiently promising."

The other man chuckled again.

This time, the sound stretched longer than it should have.

Uncomfortably long.

No doubt, a mad man enjoying himself far too much.

Then he spoke.

"So... the Head of the White Tiger Guild and his son are willing to betray humanity this easily?"

Lord Aran said nothing.

His gaze drifted toward the pathetic shadow kneeling before them. For a brief moment, something flickered in his eyes—recognition, perhaps... or memory.

Then it was gone.

Dismissed the moment it surfaced in his heart.

"Just get the job done, Bentley."

With that, he gestured to Kyle. And together, the two vanished into the darkness, leaving only Bentley... and the shadow behind.

Bentley chuckled once more, his hands rising to his face as though he wanted to peel his own skin off.

For a moment, it looked like he might actually try.

Then—

He stopped.

His hands dropped limply to his sides.

"Thanks to you, Crow..." he murmured, his voice dripping with twisted satisfaction. "I will create the next age."

He tilted his head slightly, staring down at the shadow like one might regard a loyal dog.

"Now... run along, my little spy."

The shadow shuddered violently—

And disappeared.