Door Thirteenth

Agaret's power got split in half. Beside him appeared a shadowy figure shaped like a human, its outfit looking like a patchwork of doors and windows stitched together. The most striking feature was the emblem on its chest: a diamond pattern with the number 9, just like an ego card symbol.

Its aura felt weaker than Avid's Soaring Hopper. Agaret's fighting ability didn't seem to have improved much, but as Asic looked at Agaret's now relaxed and cocky face, he couldn't let his guard down.

"Door Thirteenth! Open the door!" Agaret commanded. Door Thirteenth raised its hand and punched the air. Suddenly, a door materialized in mid-air, swinging open to release a flood of black energy spilling from behind it.

"Open it all the way—now!" Agaret ordered sharply. Door Thirteenth yanked the door wide open, unleashing the entity on the other side into the world. It was a creature wreathed in black smoke, its body humanoid but faceless, standing nearly two meters tall. Two of them stepped through the door simultaneously.

Agaret leapt into the doorway and slammed it shut behind him. The two shadow creatures fixed their gaze on Asic. Or rather, it seemed like Asic was the first person they noticed, making him their primary target. Meanwhile, the guy who summoned them had fled through the same door they came from.

The shadow creatures charged at Asic at high speed. He swung his sword, creating an arc of lightning in a semi-circle. They morphed their bodies into weapons and directly clashed with him. Asic's high-frequency blade sliced through them with ease. After all, he could cut through even top-tier security bots made from highly durable materials. These shadow beings were no match for him.

"Not tough. Or maybe... I'm just too good at this."

[Report: Initial analysis shows the enemy's strength at 1.5 times that of Smurfman but weaker than Fishman. Based on existing data, these entities are likely from the Shadowverse. High probability Door Thirteenth's power involves creating dimensional doors.]

"Dimensional doors, huh? So that bucket-head's probably hiding out in another dimension," Asic thought. Suddenly, dozens of doors appeared all at once. Tens, maybe hundreds of shadow creatures poured out of the newly formed doors. Their sheer numbers were downright terrifying and only kept increasing.

[Quick count: Enemy tally stands at 222 and climbing.]

"No summoning limit, huh?"

[Likely, Door Thirteenth's power is limited to opening dimensional doors and not summoning. These entities likely emerged of their own accord. Agaret may lack the ability to control or command them.]

"What a frustrating loophole," Asic realized. Door Thirteenth's power was incredibly dangerous. Most summoning-type ego cards required the user to spend resources like aura energy or minerals to summon creatures.

But Agaret didn't pay any cost, yet he could pull hundreds of creatures from other dimensions. Sure, he couldn't control them, and there was a risk they'd attack him too, but Agaret had found a way to stay safe—by staying out of their sight.

More than 200 shadow creatures locked onto Asic as their sole target. Even though they had no eyes, Asic could feel their murderous intent, like he was being stared down. They swarmed at him like a horde of zombies, hellbent on devouring a single human until nothing remained.

"Killing them all is pointless. I've gotta find Agaret and take him down. Otherwise, they'll just keep coming," Asic planned. He charged his high-frequency blade with black lightning. The shadow creatures morphed their arms into swords and spears, lunging at him. Asic used his grappling hook to dart around the factory, but they chased him with parkour-like agility, like relentless ghosts.

[Searching for a way to defeat Agaret and Door Thirteenth... Based on similar abilities, Agaret's hiding in another dimension makes him immune to attacks. Damage can only be dealt when he exits the door, unless Master possesses dimensional abilities to enter Agaret's domain.]

"Good to know," Asic muttered, zipping around. He had no way to strike Agaret in another dimension, but as a specialist in dealing with ego users, he knew no ability was without its flaws.

"Creatures from one world can't stay in another for long. Agaret will have to come out eventually, or he'll die. Same goes for these shadow monsters. All I've gotta do is wait him out," Asic strategized. He zigzagged through the factory, avoiding direct confrontation and conserving energy until Agaret showed himself.

Suddenly, the factory lights flared up, bathing everything in blinding brightness. The light was so intense that it turned Asic's surroundings white. His eyes squeezed shut behind his mask to avoid permanent damage.

"Can't see, can ya?" Agaret's voice taunted from somewhere. The sudden brightness wasn't random but Agaret's doing. Asic clenched his eyes shut tighter as one of the shadow creatures slashed at his midsection with a blade. He couldn't see or open his eyes, nor could he fully unleash his aura energy.

"Give it your best shot, mutt! These shadows get stronger the brighter the light is. Just like how shadows are sharper in intense light! Your unmodified natural eyes can't handle this, can they? But me? I've got anti-glare mode!" Agaret laughed maniacally, raising a rifle and firing at Asic.

Technically, Asic shouldn't have been able to see the bullet coming since his eyes were shut. But his enhanced senses picked up the projectile's movement through faint electrical signals. He deflected it with his blade, though shadow creatures swarmed him by the dozens. Blind, Asic continued to fight them off with practiced moves.

"Hot… tired," he thought. His body temperature kept rising. Even without overclocking, the constant exertion drained him. The intense brightness only worsened things, dehydrating him faster.

But Asic was prepared. A tube connected his helmet to a water bottle at his waist. He bit down on the straw and drank deeply, replenishing his fluids. This setup offset the usual drawbacks of overclocking and dehydration.

"RAWR!" The shadow creatures moved faster, nearly doubling in speed and strength. Asic detected their movements with electrical pulses and countered with his blade. Under the intense light, his high-frequency blade struggled to cut through them.

[Alert: Enemy strength has increased from 1.5 to 2.]

"Great. Now they're as tough as Fishman," Asic noted. The horde, numbering over 200, was like a nightmare. For most miners, survival would seem impossible.

The creatures attacked wildly, without coordination. Despite their humanoid forms, they behaved more like animals, driven by instinct. And sometimes, instincts were deadlier than plans.

Fighting humans was easier. Humans had predictable patterns, and their actions could be countered by understanding their thought processes. Animals, though? Completely unpredictable. It wasn't just their strength or speed; their instincts seemed sharper too.

Asic fired his grappling hook upward. Though he couldn't see his surroundings, he knew the factory's roof would be clear. The hook pulled him up, out of the creatures' reach. They could only glare up at him, powerless without wings.

Standing on a metal railing, Asic issued a command. "OC, locate the light sources."

[Acknowledged, Master,] OC responded, calculating the positions of the intense lights. Just as humans could map distant stars based on light, OC pinpointed the bulbs flooding the factory.

[50 light sources identified. Coordinates uploaded.] OC sent the data directly to Asic's brain. He drove his sword into the railing, pulling out a revolver and a shotgun from under his coat. Then he opened fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets flew, shattering the bulbs one by one. Agaret's face twisted in shock. Even blinded, Asic had somehow pinpointed the lights—a feat no ordinary human could pull off. Most people would've been deafened and paralyzed by the sensory overload.

"Damn it!" Agaret cursed, leaping into another door created by Door Thirteenth. Asic opened his eyes but found his vision still adjusting. The shadow creatures, now deprived of intense light, began to weaken visibly. The surge in strength they gained under bright light faded quickly.

[Master...]

"I know," Asic said, squinting. Agaret's powers were incredibly annoying, and he was smart enough to exploit Asic's weaknesses. After the fight with Avid, Agaret must've figured out Asic's vulnerability to heat. His body temperature naturally rose during combat, pushing him closer to his limits.

So Agaret had used the factory's lighting to press him. Luckily, Asic had OC to locate the bulbs and enough water to stay hydrated. The shadow creatures couldn't fly, weren't very intelligent, and Door Thirteenth's ability, while disruptive, didn't directly boost combat power like Soaring Hopper. Instead, it was designed to frustrate opponents.

Without OC and his versatility, Asic might've been done for.

"Damn it, how tough is this guy? I thought those lights would be enough," Agaret muttered, hiding in the shadow dimension with Door Thirteenth's power. The place was pitch black, and he hated it, but it kept him safe.

Door Thirteenth's power was borderline cheating. The distances in the shadow dimension didn't match the real world. Walking ten steps in reality might only take seven or eight in the shadow dimension. And no enemy could touch him here.

The downside? Agaret couldn't see what was happening outside. Plus, staying too long risked attracting the shadow dimension's stronger monsters. Even with his genotype Tarantula powers, he couldn't take on the high-level beasts of this realm.

"Better get out and find a sniping spot," Agaret decided, shifting from direct combat to ambush tactics. Door Thirteenth punched a small door open, just big enough for Agaret to slip through. He glanced around, only to find...

"Where the hell did he go?!"