I Died and Became a Noble's Heir-Chapter 432: Skill Created

Jack pulled back another arrow of fused darkness and lightning, the construct humming with each passing second.

Through the Soul Link, his panthers had already marked the next cluster of Mistborn.

Twelve this time, spread across a wider area near the deeper sections of the swamp. The distance was even greater now, nearly four hundred meters, but Jack felt no concern.

The technique was working perfectly.

He released the next arrow without hesitation.

The arrow screamed through the jungle, tearing apart everything in its path. Trees exploded into splinters, vegetation disintegrated under the combined assault of darkness and lightning.

The sound was like thunder trapped in a bottle and then shattered

A deep, resonating boom that echoed across the entire floor.

Four hundred meters vanished in the blink of an eye.

The first Mistborn dissolved instinctively, recognizing danger at the last possible moment.

But the dark mana component of the arrow adapted instantly, spreading through the dispersed fog like sentient corruption. It found the creature's core and crushed it.

The arrow continued on its path of destruction.

Second target. Third. Fourth.

Each Mistborn tried different defensive measures. Some attempted to flee, others to hide within the swamp's natural mist, and a few even tried to fight back with their own magical abilities. None of it mattered.

The dark mana hunted them relentlessly, and the lightning destroyed them utterly.

[12 Mistborn (Dread-rank) eliminated - 6,000 Death Tokens acquired]

Jack didn't pause to celebrate. His hands were already forming another bow, Loryn's dark mana flowing seamlessly into the construct now that they'd established the rhythm.

"Seventy-four remaining," Jack said aloud. He was talking to himself as he found pleasure in his new skill.

Kaedor watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as Jack pulled back another arrow. "Master, you're not even breathing hard. You're eliminating entire groups of Dread-rank creatures like it's nothing more than target practice."

"That's because it is target practice," Jack replied calmly. "I'm testing the limitations of the technique. Maximum range, penetration capability, and the dark mana's tracking efficiency. Each shot teaches me something new."

He released another arrow.

This one traveled even farther. Five hundred meters through impossibly dense jungle terrain. The panthers had marked eight Mistborn gathered around what appeared to be a territorial boundary, probably arguing over the suddenly scarce food supply.

The arrow found them as well.

It curved slightly mid-flight, the dark mana component adjusting its trajectory to account for obstacles and target movement. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Jack watched through his enhanced perception as the arrow phased through a massive tree trunk, emerged on the other side without losing any velocity, and struck the first Mistborn.

Then it split.

The dark mana separated into eight distinct tendrils, each one seeking out a different target.

The lightning followed, channeling through the darkness like blood through veins.

Eight Mistborn died simultaneously.

[8 Mistborn (Dread-rank) eliminated - 4,000 Death Tokens acquired]

"Did it just..." Loryn's voice carried disbelief. "Young master, the arrow adapted on its own. You didn't command it to split. It recognized multiple targets and divided itself to make sure it killed everything."

Jack's red eyes gleamed behind his visor. "The dark mana is learning. Each shot makes it smarter. It can sense what I want, and it's making sure the mission is accomplished."

Kaedor's rings clicked rapidly. "Master, that shouldn't be possible. Magical constructs don't learn. They follow the parameters set by their creator and nothing more. What you've created is something....

It's almost alive."

"Almost," Jack agreed, already forming another bow.

The slaughter continued.

Jack fell into a rhythm. Form the bow, Loryn channels dark mana, panthers mark targets through Soul Link, aim, release, repeat. Each arrow claimed anywhere from six to fifteen Mistborn, depending on their positions and the terrain.

Some shots traveled straight through the swamp, the arrow skimming across the water's surface before diving beneath to find targets hiding in the depths. Others arced high into the air, coming down like divine judgment on Mistborn who thought elevation would provide safety.

The dark mana proved infinitely adaptable. It learned from each encounter, developing new hunting patterns and tracking methods.

By the twentieth shot, it could follow Mistborn through their intangible transformations with perfect accuracy, crushing their cores even when they'd dispersed into particles too small to see.

Jack experimented with variations. He tried charging the arrow with more lightning.

It moved faster, but the dark mana had less time to adapt. He tried increasing the dark mana ratio. It tracked better but lost some penetrating power.

He found the optimal balance through systematic testing, treating the mass execution as one giant laboratory experiment.

Loryn maintained the dark mana flow without complaint, though Jack could sense the shadow demon's growing fascination with the technique.

This was probably the most practical application of dark magic Loryn had witnessed in decades.

Not flashy displays of power, but efficient, targeted elimination.

Fifty Mistborn remaining.

Forty.

Thirty.

The survivors began to panic. Jack could feel it through the disturbances in the swamp's magical ambient energy. They were trying to flee, to hide deeper in their domain, to find safety in numbers.

But none of it helped.

His panthers tracked them effortlessly, marking positions faster than the Mistborn could relocate. And Jack's arrows found them wherever they tried to hide.

Twenty Mistborn left.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Jack pulled back one final arrow, this one charged with significantly more power than the others. The last remaining Mistborn had clustered together in what they probably thought was a defensive formation.

All ten gathered in a tight sphere of overlapping fog, their cores positioned to provide mutual protection.

It wouldn't be enough.

Jack released the arrow.

It struck the center of their formation and exploded.

The dark mana detonated outward in a sphere of pure corruption, spreading through the combined fog of ten Mistborn simultaneously.

The lightning followed a microsecond later, electrical energy cascading through the darkness in branching patterns that touched every single core at once.

Ten Mistborn died as one.

[10 Mistborn (Dread-rank) eliminated - 5,000 Death Tokens acquired]

Silence fell across the swamp.

Jack lowered his hands slowly, feeling the absence of Mistborn presence across the entire zone.

Ninety-three creatures that had ruled this swamp for who knew how long—all eliminated in less than an hour of hunting.

Then the system responded:

[New Skill Developed Through Practical Application]

[Analyzing technique structure...]

[Analyzing magical fusion properties...]

[Analyzing combat effectiveness...]

[Skill Creation Complete]

[Astrape's Shadow]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Description: A lightning bolt corrupted by dark magic. The Dark mana component will seek out and eliminate targets along the arrow's path with predatory intelligence. Unlike standard magical attacks, this skill adapts and learns from each use, becoming more efficient with practice.]

[Damage: (Magic × Magic Talent) + (Strength × Martial Talent)]

[Special Property: Arrow can split to engage multiple targets. Dark mana can track targets through intangibility and dimensional shifts.]

[Mana Cost: 500 per arrow]

[Current Proficiency: Beginner]

[Note: This skill requires an external source of dark mana to function at full capacity. You do not have dark mana, making it hard to use.]

'You have got to be shitting me. Astrape... isn't that the lightning spirit responsible for Ren being imprisoned?

Why is it called Astrape's Shadow? Who the fuck is this spirit.'