Chapter Fourteen: Doom Elf

Chapter Fourteen: Doom Elf

Everything went blank for a moment. Then, in an instant, a pungent stench assaulted Twilight's nostrils, making him gag.

'Damn it! What the hell is this smell?' he cursed inwardly as his eyes snapped open.

[Player Sorrow, welcome to the Astral Realm.]

[You have learned the basic skill: {Inspect}]

Twilight took in his surroundings, not minding the system's message in the least. After all, the basic skill: {Inspect} was a skill everyone got upon their first entry into the Astral Realm.

As he observed his location, he realised that he was in a massive hall, its towering bookshelves stretching high into the air.

The polished marble floors reflected the dim glow of ancient lanterns, causing an eerie atmosphere to dominate the hall.

Not that he was surprised.

In the Astral Realm, spawn locations were completely random. Some people were lucky, appearing in a safe zone or near a checkpoint. Others… weren't so fortunate.

One could even be dumped in the middle of a magical beast's nest or stranded in an endless ocean.

It was all about luck… well, and the mood of the sovereign system.

So Twilight really hoped his luck wasn't that terrible.

Focusing back on his surroundings, his sharp eyes locked onto something at the far end of the hall almost immediately.

A massive, bat-like creature lay sprawled across the ground, its deep snores causing faint tremors in the air.

"A magical beast, huh?"

Twilight wasn't particularly worried, but the terrain was a problem. Fighting in a room packed with towering bookshelves wouldn't be easy.

Curious, he activated his newly acquired skill.

[Inspect]

[Magical Beast detected!]

[Scanning…]

[Night Wing – Level 8, Tier 0 Monster]

[Cultivation Base: First Stage Magic Apostle]

[Description: A bat-like creature known for its speed and poisonous slime.]

Twilight frowned.

'Figures. It's way beyond my league if I solo it with only my raw power.'

In the Astral Realm, cultivation was the mainstream path for gaining power, but it wasn't the "only" method.

Both Magical Beasts and humans had unique ways of growing stronger.

- Magical Beasts evolved by devouring other lifeforms.

- Humans leveled up their classes by slaying enemies.

Once a human awakened their class, they could level it up, unlocking new skills and evolving into higher tiers.

Meanwhile, Magical Beasts didn't have classes — they advanced their state of existence instead.

The higher the level and tier, the deadlier the beast.

Right now, a Level 8 Magical Beast was far too strong for Twilight. Not to mention, it had a cultivation base as well.

Even so, Twilight wasn't afraid to fight it.

His current strength only gave him a 30-40% chance of winning.

But if he included the items he had prepared, that chance shot up to 70%… with a 30% chance of dying.

With a resigned sigh, he waved his right hand, his storage ring glowing as a set of leather armor appeared.

With another motion, a medieval gambeson manifested alongside it.

"These should do."

Without hesitation, he quickly changed out of his tracksuit and into the gambeson.

The process was swift, but Twilight still wished he had worn it before entering the Astral Realm.

After all, whatever one wore in the real world was what their Astral Character would start with.

'How was I supposed to know I'd spawn right in front of a damn magical beast?' he sighed inwardly.

Pushing the thought aside, he quickly strapped on the leather chest piece, followed by the leg guards and bracers.

He also wanted to adorn the leather pauldrons, but soon decided against it after some thoughts.

Simply because, he didn't see a need to adorn the shoulder piece. With his already high defense, adding another piece of armour would just be too much weight. It wasn't like he was going to war.

As he adjusted his leather gloves, he reached for his storage ring to summon his shortsword—

But before he could, the armor suddenly shrank, fitting snugly against his body like a second skin.

A wave of strength surged through him.

"Wait… could it be?"

A memory surfaced.

---

Seven Days Ago…

Alice stood by the window, her amber eyes gazing at the sky. A subtle look of melancholy clouded her expression.

"Treat it with care, Twilight."

She turned to him, her fingers brushing against the leather armor she had just handed over.

"It was the first piece of equipment I ever obtained in the Astral Realm. It helped me survive when I had nothing else. So, as my student, I'm passing it on to you."

Her lips curled into a smirk.

"Don't underestimate it. Even top cultivators would kill for that armor."

---

Back then, Twilight had thought she was exaggerating.

Top cultivators? Those were monsters who could wipe out entire kingdoms with a flick of their fingers.

Why would they care about a simple leather armor?

But now… Twilight understood.

This wasn't an ordinary armor.

There were very few items in both Earth and the Astral Realm that could enhance one's power simply by equipping them.

They were called Supernatural Weapons — exceedingly rare artifacts that grew alongside their wielder, granting limitless potential and power.

Every time one appeared, entire empires went to war over it.

'And Alice just… gave this to me?'

Suppressing his shock, Twilight summoned his shortsword from his spatial ring.

'The Flame Empress had something like this… and willingly parted with it?' he thought, shaking his head, not knowing what to say about this situation.

Still, he had no time to dwell on it. He gripped his blade, ready to engage the sleeping beast.

But then—

A thought struck him, and he froze mid-step.

"How could I have forgotten?!"

Twilight smacked his forehead. He had overlooked something critical.

Taking a deep breath, he muttered: "Character Status."

---

—|—[Character Status] —|—

[Name: Twilight Sorrow

[Innate Name: —

[Character Nickname: Sorrow

[Race: Doom Elf…]

---

Twilight's eyes widened in shock.

'Wait… what the hell is a Doom Elf.'