Arise
The moonlight spilled through the dorm window, casting silver streaks across the polished floor. Raijo sat cross-legged in the center of the room, his breathing steady, his mind sharp. The meditation had calmed his body, but his soul still burned with purpose.
Knock. Knock.
He opened his eyes.
The doorbell rang again.
Raijo stood, stretched, and walked to the door. When he opened it, a man in a black suit stood silently, his face expressionless. Behind him, a long, obsidian coffin hovered slightly above the ground, suspended by a levitation rune.
"Delivery from Lady Ichoshima," the man said, bowing.
Raijo stepped aside. "Bring it in."
The coffin glided into the room, settling with a soft thud. The man bowed once more and vanished without another word.
Raijo approached the coffin, his heart pounding. He placed a hand on the lid. It hissed open with a whisper of steam, revealing a body inside — a man in his mid-forties, muscular, scarred, and still. His face was calm, but his aura lingered like smoke from a dying fire.
Raijo extended his hand.
A glowing interface appeared in the air, lines of data scrolling like a digital scroll of fate.
---
[Corpse Scan: Complete]
Name: Jin Woo
Age at Death: 45
Class: Fire Mage
Combat Role: Assault Type
Rank: A
Mana Core: Red Tier – High Density
Notable Traits:
- Pyrokinetic Precision
- Flame Step (Short-range teleportation)
- Veteran of 17 Dungeon Raids
- Killed in action during Rift Collapse
---
A second prompt appeared, glowing in eerie violet:
"Do you wish to obtain the Shadow of the Undead?"
Raijo's eyes narrowed. "Yes."
"Please input your command keyword."
He paused.
Then began pacing.
Back and forth. For hours.
He muttered to himself, tried phrases, rejected them. Nothing felt right. Until—
He stopped.
A grin spread across his face.
He turned to the coffin, eyes glowing faintly white.
"…Arise."
The lights in the room flickered.
The temperature dropped.
The body inside the coffin twitched.
Then — BOOM — a pulse of black and red energy erupted from the corpse. Shadows coiled around it like serpents, and from within the darkness, a figure emerged.
Jin Woo stood again — but not as he was.
His eyes now glowed with crimson fire. His armor had transformed into sleek, obsidian plating laced with red runes. Black flames licked his limbs, and his presence was no longer human.
He knelt before Raijo.
[Shadow Soldier Created]
Name: Jin Woo
Class: Black Flame Mage
Combat Role: Assassin / Assault Hybrid
Rank: S
Mana Core: Abyssal Tier – Dual Affinity
Abilities:
- Shadow Step (Silent teleportation)
- Hellfire Blades (Twin daggers forged from cursed flame)
- Soul Burn (Consumes enemy mana to fuel attacks)
- Undying Loyalty (Cannot betray summoner)
---
Raijo stared at his new soldier, heart pounding.
"…Yo."
Jin Woo looked up. "Your will is my command, my king."
Raijo grinned wide. "Oh yeah. This is gonna be fun."
—
Black Flame and Boredom
---
Above Tenka Academy – Midnight Skies
The night sky was torn open by streaks of black and red flame.
Raijo and Jin Woo, his newly risen shadow soldier, clashed midair like twin comets. Each blow cracked the air, each dodge left trails of smoke and sparks. The rooftop below them was scorched and cratered, the academy's barrier system quietly humming to contain the chaos.
Jin Woo vanished in a blur of shadow, reappearing behind Raijo with twin daggers drawn — Hellfire Blades. Raijo spun, blocking with a flaming forearm, then countered with a sweeping kick that sent Jin Woo spiraling through the air.
But the shadow didn't fall.
He recovered mid-flight, landed on a floating rune platform, and launched himself back with a roar of black fire.
They went bar for bar — no holding back, no wasted movement. Just raw, devastating power.
Finally, Raijo raised a hand. "Enough."
Jin Woo halted instantly, kneeling midair before descending to the rooftop beside his master.
They sat together, the wind brushing through Raijo's white hair and Jin Woo's shadow-wreathed form.
Raijo glanced over. "You still in there?"
Jin Woo nodded. "Yes. I remember everything. But my will is yours now."
Raijo leaned back on his hands, staring at the stars. "You don't want to see your family? Say goodbye?"
Jin Woo's voice was calm. "My life ended. My purpose now is to serve you. That is all I desire."
Raijo blinked, then grinned wide. "Damn… that's cold."
He threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing into the night.
---
Meanwhile – Yumi's Estate
Yumi lay sprawled across her velvet couch, one leg dangling off the side, her phone resting on her chest. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and she wore nothing but a silk robe and a scowl.
"He better not be banging someone already," she muttered, staring at the ceiling. "I told him to call me."
She picked up her phone, checked it again. No messages. No missed calls.
"Idiot."
Ring-ring.
She answered without checking the ID. "What?"
A smooth voice replied, "Yumi-chan, don't be so cold. I was wondering if you'd grace us with your presence at my guild's opening ceremony tomorrow."
She groaned. "You're still alive?"
The man laughed. "Barely. But with you there, I'll be immortalized."
"You just want to use my name to boost your numbers."
"Guilty."
She sighed, rubbing her temple. "Fine. I'll come. But you owe me dinner. And a bottle of that 200-year-old sake you keep locked up."
"Deal."
She hung up and tossed the phone aside.
"Bastard," she muttered. "Everyone wants a piece of me."
She glanced at the photo of Raijo on her nightstand.
"…And that idiot better not be giving pieces of himself away."
---
The Trial of Ice and Shadows
---
Tenka Academy – Combat Courtyard
The morning sun blazed over the sprawling courtyard, where over 300 students stood in formation, tension thick in the air. Today wasn't just another lecture — it was the Physical Prowess Test, and the instructor was already infamous.
Ichigo Manta, a retired A-Rank Ice Mage, stood at the head of the field. His silver hair was slicked back, his robes trimmed in frost, and his eyes glimmered with cold indifference.
"Today," he said, voice sharp as icicles, "we separate the hunters from the hunted."
---
Phase One: Speed Test
A glowing track stretched across the courtyard — enchanted to simulate 1,000,000 km of terrain in compressed space. Students lined up, one by one, sprinting with all they had.
Most collapsed halfway.
Some barely finished.
Then came Ayasia Ryombi.
She launched forward, her body wrapped in a thin veil of ice to reduce friction. She crossed the finish line in 30 minutes, earning gasps and applause. Her score shot to the top.
Until Raijo stepped forward.
No fire. No teleportation.
Just raw speed.
He vanished in a blur — wind howled, dust kicked up, and in 30 seconds, he crossed the line.
The scoreboard blinked.
> Raijo Kimi – 1st Place – 30 seconds
The crowd was stunned.
Ayasia clenched her fists, her pride bruised.
---
Phase Two: Target Test
Floating targets appeared — some stationary, others moving at high velocity. Students fired spells, arrows, and elemental blasts.
Ayasia scored a perfect 100, her ice spears piercing every mark with surgical precision.
Raijo followed.
His fireballs didn't just hit — they obliterated. Targets melted mid-air, some combusted before his flames even touched them.
He too scored 100, but the damage left behind was on another level.
Even Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
---
Phase Three: 1v1 Combat
The courtyard darkened. A barrier rose around the arena. Students were called one by one to face Ichigo Manta himself.
The first was a D-Rank Stone Mage.
He stepped forward, confident.
Ichigo didn't speak.
He moved.
In one fluid motion, he pierced the student's chest with a shard of ice, ripping out his heart.
"Failed," he said coldly. "Next."
Screams erupted. Panic spread. But the test continued.
One by one, students entered.
One by one, they died.
Some lasted seconds. A few managed minutes.
Ayasia stepped in, her body encased in thick armor of enchanted ice. She fought fiercely, dodging and countering, barely surviving the five-minute mark before collapsing from exhaustion.
Then came Raijo.
He stepped into the blood-soaked arena, eyes scanning the mountain of corpses — over 125 bodies, D to C-Rank.
He exhaled.
"Arise."
The shadows rippled.
From every corpse, a dark mist rose. Figures emerged — twisted, loyal, silent. The dead bowed to him.
Jin Woo, his Black Flame Assassin, stood at his side.
Ichigo's eyes widened. "You…"
Raijo didn't wait.
The shadows surged forward, coordinated, precise. Jin Woo struck from behind, while others overwhelmed Ichigo's defenses. Raijo didn't lift a finger — he simply watched.
In under a minute, Ichigo was on his knees, bloodied, defeated.
Raijo walked up, eyes glowing white.
"Failed," he whispered.
---
Final Scores – Evaluated by Head Instructor
Instructor: Lady Kureha Voss – S-Rank Wind Mage
- Tall, elegant, with emerald hair and piercing teal eyes.
- Her voice was soft, but her presence was overwhelming.
- She stood atop the observation deck, watching everything.
She raised her hand.
> Raijo Kimi – Perfect Score – Top of Class
> Ayasia Ryombi – Second Place – Survived
The crowd erupted.
Raijo stood in the center, surrounded by shadows, his expression calm.
Ayasia watched from the sidelines, her heart heavy.
He's not just strong… he's untouchable.
—
End of chapter 10.