Versatile System

Trevor was utterly shocked — he owed his life entirely to the dwarf. That sneak attack had been directed right for his very neck.

Trevor, still trembling in shock, also equipped the Eyes of Hades.

With his increased Lust Essence, he was more than certain he could now equip two cards simultaneously and maintain them in perfect harmony.

The moment he equipped the Eyes of Hades, the view of the world finally slowed down, and he was at last able to begin perceiving the concept of the entire forest. It was as though a veil had been lifted from his eyes, and he could finally see with startling clarity.

The shadow finally came into view, but not quite as he had expected. This time he could only see the shadow itself — and it was still far faster than usual.

Its movement was completely unpredictable.

Trevor was still in shock, but he behaved as though he was oblivious to the shadow in front of him, doing his absolute best not to draw its attention.

To play further into its trap, Trevor quickly and genuinely rushed to the side of the dwarf.

The dwarf was already unconscious on the ground, blood pooling all around him.

Trevor, frightened, immediately began bandaging the dwarf’s wounds using his own shirt.

"You can’t die here — please," Trevor said, his voice genuine. For the first time, he truly felt guilty.

For the first time, he did not want someone to die.

The flood of emotions washing over him was overwhelming — and yet it was still an act, even though he meant every single one of his actions sincerely.

He simply wanted the shadow to move slightly closer to him and lower its guard, so that he could behead it cleanly without any need for a prolonged fight.

Over the past few days, if there was one thing Trevor had learned, it was that not all battles were won through brute force. Sometimes, he simply had to use his brain.

And just as Trevor had planned, the shadow stopped and walked straight toward the grieving Trevor.

But this time, Trevor could actually sense something different. The shadow was genuinely sad — as though it had come to regret everything it had done. But Trevor did not fall for it. The shadow was weak, and it was time to strike.

With intense speed, he immediately hurled his sword through the air, aiming directly for the shadow’s head, and made a clean, wonderful cut.

It was a perfect hit. The shadow’s head was already rolling across the floor like a ball.

Trevor took a deep breath. He had finally defeated the looming shadow — but just before he could even begin to celebrate, the remaining body of the shadow began to transform into two brand-new shadows.

Trevor’s joy was cut short immediately as he watched the creature evolving right in front of him. The shadow had split into two distinct beings before his very eyes.

But Trevor was still not fazed. Instead, he wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. He had already wasted enough time and was not about to let the dwarf die because of it.

The dwarf had just saved his life, and he was by no means willing to let him lose his own for that sacrifice.

Almost immediately, Trevor dashed forward, not even allowing the shadows to fully complete their transformation.

His sword slashed down into one of their chests with a single terrifying strike.

With his Eyes of Hades, he could clearly see that the weakness of the shadow was its heart, and with one decisive blow, the creature finally disintegrated into fragments.

Trevor immediately rushed back to the dwarf, who lay motionless on the floor — and shockingly, the dwarf was still breathing.

A faint smile crept across the dwarf’s face.

He had only passed out for a few seconds, and the moment he awoke, he worked swiftly to seal off his blood vessels to ensure he did not bleed himself to death.

Trevor smiled in quiet realisation.

Dwarves were indeed the most resilient of creatures.

Any ordinary human would have bled out had both their hands been severed so cleanly at the entrance of a forest — in the middle of a jungle with absolutely nowhere to go.

Despite the fact that the dwarf had survived, Trevor still felt deeply guilty.

The dwarf had paid the price of his hands — and it had happened because of Trevor.

But Trevor did not say much more after that. Instead, he simply gripped his sword firmly in his hand and shook the dwarf’s left hand — the only hand he had remaining — with a firm, respectful grip.

"Thank you for saving my life. I promise to fix your hand. I am so sorry you had to go through that because of me," Trevor spoke formally, working hard to suppress the raging emotions churning inside him.

The moment the dwarf heard his voice, his eyes immediately lit up. Despite having lost both his hands, he appeared to still be genuinely happy about what was unfolding before him.

"No need to apologise, good helper. I simply did what was right," the dwarf said calmly, before suddenly releasing all the information he had been struggling to suppress — information he had held back only because Trevor had not been as receptive to him as he would have liked.

"This part of the forest is infested with the Shadows of the Dead. It is not marked on your map, but during the creation of the map, we had to study all the terrain we were dealing with in order to form a perfect map for you — one that was entirely void of any possible dangers." The dwarf paused calmly, his gaze serious and filled with quiet pride as he noted the level of attention Trevor was giving him.

The dwarf silently moved forward, stepping past Trevor.

"Well, Shadows of the Dead sound like an extraordinarily dangerous creature — so why did you add this route to the map? Or is there simply no other way to reach the First Primordial Tower?" Trevor said calmly, his expression carrying a slightly worried edge.

He was not afraid of the danger. He simply needed to arrive as early as possible so that he could complete the quest before Alex.

"This is all freaking Caroline’s fault," Trevor whispered under his breath. Right now, he should have been training for the guild quest — but that was simply impossible.

He was quite certain he would never be able to trust her again for as long as he lived. But he could not lie to himself — deep down, he still loved her.

"The forest wraps entirely around the region. The only way through it would be to pass the Obstarain Ridge — and of course, it is not on the map because an old witch lives there, and she has never once spared any of her victims."

The dwarf said this calmly before resuming his speech.

"The reason I even brought this topic up in the first place is because I genuinely believe I have a method..... a cheat code, if you will that we could use to pass through the shadow-infested forest rather than endlessly fighting our way through it."