"It's loot time, baby!" Drake shouted, throwing his hands up like he just won the lottery.
DING!
[SHADOW ARSENAL SYSTEM]
WARNING:
You're yelling again.
Stop attracting wolves—or worse.
(Unless your goal is death by fang. In which case, carry on.)
Drake winced. "Right. Got it. No more shouting."
DING!
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
Actually, feel free to keep yelling.
Just don't come crying to me when a level 12 murder-mutt decides your throat looks like a snack.
— Sincerely, Your Sarcastic Shadow System
The screen blinked out with a sassy fizzzt.
"Sheesh. What's her problem?" Drake muttered, rolling his eyes hard enough to dislocate something.
He cracked his neck with a satisfying pop-pop and strode across the battlefield, stepping over shattered rocks, broken branches, and leftover fang marks in the dirt.
Time to see what tasty prizes these oversized fur missiles left behind.
Drake stopped at the first glimmering pile of loot—a glistening mess of beast meat, wolve hides, and…
"Oh, jackpot," he grinned, crouching down. "Shadow Fangs."
He picked one up, eyes widening. The fang was pitch-black with silver streaks running through its serrated edge. It pulsed with faint energy, exuding a cool mist that danced like smoke in moonlight.
SSSSHHHHRRRRP!
The mist curled around his fingers like it recognized him. The fang itself felt dense, as if packed with compressed shadow magic and bad decisions.
"Looks like the canines of a full-grown Feral Alpha," Drake muttered. "And these things are definitely rare-grade. Probably fetch a nice price... too bad I'm broke."
He turned his pockets inside out. Lint. A dead bug. A receipt for a meat bun he never got to eat.
"Yup. Broke as the plot of a soap opera."
He stood up, fang in hand, and looked to the sky.
"System, show me my inventory!"
DING!
[SHADOW ARSENAL SYSTEM]
[INVENTORY INTERFACE]
Type: Shadowbound Dimensional Storage
Slots Used: 4 / 50
Weight Load: 120 lbs / 500 lbs
Equipped Weapons:
1. Twin Pistols of Midnight Howl
• Type: Dual Shadowfire Handguns
• Damage: Medium-High (Scales with Precision & Intelligence)
• Special: Fires compressed shadow rounds that phase through light armor and leave cursed marks.
• Cool Factor: Glows faint violet in darkness. Emits a ghostly whisper when drawn.
2. (Empty Primary Weapon Slot)
Inventory Items:
• 2x Shadow Charges – Restores 300 Mana | Cooldown: 5 min
• 1x Basic Healing Flask – Restores 50 HP | Single-use
• 1x Blank Skill Core – Absorbs and stores a shadow ability
Drake nodded, analyzing the numbers like a loot-hungry accountant.
"Four slots used, 46 open. Weight capacity at 120 out of 500 pounds. Got room for days."
He held out the Shadow Fangs in his palm, took a deep breath…
"STORE!"
SSMM-WSSHHH!
The fangs lit up with a dark purple glow and vanished into digital pixels with a sonic ripple that made the air hum.
DING!
[Inventory Updated]
• 2x Shadow Fangs successfully stored
"Awww yeah! That was sick! Watching all that anime finally paid off," Drake grinned. "Next up—mass looting."
He jogged over to the next pile of goodies and scooped them into his arms—raw beast meat, wolf hides, and more glowing fangs.
"STORE!"
He yelled again.
SHHHHRMMMMP!
A gust of shadow energy surged around the loot before sucking them into his inventory like a cosmic vacuum cleaner.
DING!
[Inventory Updated]
• 2x Raw Beast Meat
• 2x Wolf Hides
• 2x Shadow Fangs
He repeated the process with the final loot piles—one left by the Alpha, the other by the last unlucky wolf duo.
SHHHHHMP!
Gone in a blink.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, hands on his hips.
"That's a wrap! Time to check the haul."
"System—inventory!"
DING!
[SHADOW ARSENAL SYSTEM]
[INVENTORY INTERFACE]
Type: Shadowbound Dimensional Storage
Slots Used: 8 / 50
Weight Load: 220 lbs / 500 lbs
Equipped Weapons:
1. Twin Pistols of Midnight Howl
2. (Empty)
Inventory Items:
• 2x Shadow Charges
• 1x Basic Healing Flask
• 1x Blank Skill Core
Loot Acquired:
• 6x Shadow Fangs – Rare-grade crafting material
• 6x Wolf Hides – Standard armor material
• 6x Raw Beast Meat – Fresh, high-protein. Smells vaguely like steak left in the sun.
"Nice," Drake smirked. "Eight slots down, 220 pounds used. Still got tons of room left... and no need to skip leg day hauling all this."
He stretched, arms cracking like bubble wrap.
"Whew. Feels like I've been in this forest for years. When's the last time I talked to someone who didn't want to eat me?"
He turned one last time to the battlefield, now quiet, mist curling over the singed grass.
"Thanks, wolves. You were my firsts in this world… and yeah, that sounded weird. I gotta stop talking like that before people start thinking I'm into some furry dungeon kinks."
DING!
[SYSTEM ALERT]
So you do have a brain in that oversized skull.
I was starting to think your 10,000 IQ was for decorative purposes only.
"Why'd you pop up again, drama queen? I didn't summon you."
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
You just proved my point, moron.
Use your brain or you'll be the smartest corpse in this world.
SYSTEM VANISHED with a smug flicker.
Drake looked up at the sky, hands raised.
"God, not to be ungrateful, but couldn't you have assigned me a more reliable system? This one's more annoying than a tutorial level with unskippable cutscenes."
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
Sorry, God's on vacation. You're stuck with me for life.
"Figures," Drake sighed. "Honestly, I can't tell if you're a divine blessing or a cosmic prank."
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
Pick one, sweetheart. I come in both flavors.
"Fresh," Drake muttered, tugging at his hair. "I seriously need to talk to a real person before I go insane arguing with my own damn HUD."
He looked around the quiet clearing.
"I swear, if I don't meet a hot beast-woman or some curvy elf soon, I'm gonna start hallucinating milkers."
[SYSTEM POP-UP]
You pervert.
"Shut up!" Drake barked. "Nobody invited the Slut Queen. Go be weird somewhere else."
[SYSTEM RESPONSE]
Says the guy mentally undressing strangers before meeting them.
SYSTEM VANISHED
"Hhhhuuhhh," Drake groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "I need help."
With a sigh and one final glance at the battlefield, he set off toward the path ahead—one that led to the kingdom of Sidonia.
As birds chirped and critters scampered through the trees above, he clasped his hands behind his head, walking with a grin.
"My journey's just starting, and I've got a lot to figure out in this world… but I'll survive.
The only real threat?"
He looked up.
"My psychotic, judgmental shadow system ."
Silence.
"...Huh. Guess she's finally giving me a break."
He smirked.
"I've got unfinished business with fate. Until I'm done, you're stuck with me, world."
"Kingdom of Sidonia—here I come."