## Chapter 23: Chains of the Forsaken
The violet gloom of the Proving Grounds swallowed Kelvin whole. The air hung thick with ancient dust and the ozone-tang of raw magic, pressing against his skin like cold water. Three pairs of malevolent green eyes glowed in the shadows ahead, attached to hunched forms clutching chipped stone blades. These weren't the disorganized scavengers from the school; these Lesser Goblin Sentinels moved with predatory coordination, spreading out to flank him, their low snarls vibrating in the oppressive silence.
**<< Encounter Initiated: Lesser Goblin Sentinels (D-Rank) x3 >>**
No hesitation. The **Blood War Chains** erupted from Kelvin's wrists with a resonant *thrum*, no longer just streams of shadow and blood-light, but now visibly transformed. The dark metal seemed denser, almost liquid obsidian, while the crimson veins pulsed brighter, hotter, like magma flowing beneath volcanic rock. The barbs along their lengths were sharper, crueler, glistening with a faint, viscous darkness that hadn't been there before.
**Bloodlust** surged, amplified by the **Blood Resonance** humming in the dungeon's death-tinged air. Kelvin welcomed it, channeling it into focus. He didn't wait for their charge.
*WHIP-CRACK!*
The right chain lashed out, a blur of darkness. It struck the lead goblin not with the shaft, but with a vicious barb near the tip. The barb punched through leathery hide with a sickening *thunk*. **<< Critical Hit! Target Eliminated: Lesser Goblin Sentinel - +95 EXP >>** The chain didn't just retract; it *yanked* back, the goblin's corpse flung against a jagged obsidian pillar with bone-shattering force before dissolving into motes of dark energy.
The remaining two shrieked, leaping forward. Kelvin pivoted, **Combat Acumen** mapping trajectories. He met the leftmost goblin's downward chop not with a block, but with a swift, upward flick of his left chain. The barb caught the crude stone blade, and with a thought fueled by the **System**, Kelvin activated the chains' new potential.
**<< Bonus Action: Chain Pull Activated! >>**
He *willed* the chain to retract violently. The goblin, still gripping its weapon, was wrenched off its feet with a startled yelp. **<< Target: Strength Save Failed! >>** It flew helplessly through the air, straight towards Kelvin. He met it with a brutal knee strike enhanced by **Level 11 STR (12)**, crushing its sternum before it even hit the ground. **<< Target Eliminated: Lesser Goblin Sentinel - +90 EXP >>**
The third goblin, momentarily stunned by its packmate's sudden flight, lunged for Kelvin's exposed side. Kelvin spun, the movement fluid and impossibly fast (**AGI 21**). Instead of striking, he *danced* back a step, the goblin's blade whistling past his ribs. He saw the opening, the brief moment of overextension.
*Now.*
Focusing his will, Kelvin activated the chains' most terrifying new aspect. He felt a surge of MP drain significantly as thick, inky-black fluid – colder than shadow, smelling of bitter almonds and decay – welled from the barbs along both chains. **Wyvern Venom: Coating Active! (Duration: 1 minute)**
The goblin, recovering its balance, snarled and charged again. Kelvin didn't dodge. He met the charge head-on, crossing both chains before him in a defensive 'X'. The goblin's stone blade slammed into the crossed chains. Before it could react, Kelvin snapped both wrists outward in a scissoring motion.
*SHINK!*
The venom-coated barbs, moving with lethal precision guided by **Chain Mastery**, raked across the goblin's arms and chest. Dark lines opened, sizzling faintly where the venom touched flesh. The creature shrieked, an agonized sound that echoed off the cavern walls. **<< Target Hit! Wyvern Venom Applied! >>**
**<< Target: Constitution Save Failed! >>**
**<< Damage: 7d6 Poison >>** The **System** chime was cold as Kelvin watched dark veins spiderweb instantly from the wounds across the goblin's green skin. It convulsed, froth bubbling at its mouth, eyes rolling back as the neurotoxin ravaged its system. It collapsed, twitching violently, before dissolving into the dungeon's essence. **<< Target Eliminated: Lesser Goblin Sentinel - +100 EXP >>**
Silence descended, heavier than before, broken only by Kelvin's steady breathing and the low hum of his venom-coated chains. The air stung with the acrid scent of poison and ozone. He willed the venom away; the inky darkness receding back into the barbs. **<< Wyvern Venom: Coating Expended. Recharge at Dawn. >>**
He surveyed the small entry cavern. It wasn't just a cave; it was the antechamber of a trial. A single, narrow passage led deeper into the gloom, carved from the same jagged obsidian. The path of the Forsaken Architect lay ahead.
Hours bled together in the violet twilight. The Proving Grounds tested him relentlessly. He faced skittering Shadow Mites that tried to swarm from crevices (dispatched with wide, venom-less chain sweeps). He navigated treacherous ledges over bottomless chasms, using the chains' pull ability to yank himself back from near-falls. He dueled a lumbering Cave Troll (Rank D), its regenerative hide proving resistant until a perfectly timed Chain Pull yanked it off-balance, followed by a venom-coated barb thrust into its eye socket. Each victory brought EXP, each challenge honed his control over the chains' new facets.
He learned the pull wasn't just for enemies; he could anchor the chains to distant outcrops and haul *himself* across gaps, moving through the dungeon with terrifying, spider-like grace. The venom was a trump card, costly in MP but devastating. He used it sparingly, only against the strongest foes.
Finally, after what felt like days but the **System** chronometer claimed was only six hours, he stood before a massive, rune-carved door of black stone at the heart of the dungeon. The air crackled with contained power. Behind him lay a trail of dissolved monsters and conquered traps. His body thrummed with accumulated power, his mind sharp from relentless combat. The **System** chimed, a cascade of notifications flooding his vision.
**<< DUNGEON CLEARED: Proving Grounds of the Forsaken (Level 10 Threshold) >>**
**<< TOTAL EXP GAINED: 5200 >>**
**<< LEVEL UP! >>**
**<< Kelvin Vance has reached Level 11! >>**
**<< LEVEL UP! >>**
**<< ...Level 15! >>**
**All HP/MP Restored!**
**+30 Stat Points to Allocate!**
---
**<< Blood War Chains (Manifestation I & II) have Evolved! >>**
* **Rank:** Very Rare (Attuned)
* **Effect:**
* **+2 Bonus:** To hit and damage rolls (Inherent).
* **Venom of the Void (1/Day):** As an action, coat chains in Wyvern Venom (DC 15 CON Save or 7d6 Poison Damage + Poisoned for 1 min). Recharges at Dawn.
* **Grasp of the Forsaken:** On a hit, use a Bonus Action to attempt to pull the target 10ft towards you (STR Save negates).
* **Blood Resonance Synergy:** Damage and Lifesteal amplified in blood-rich environments. Bloodlust channeling efficiency improved.
---
**<< New Skill Fragment Available! >>**
**<< Passive Trait: Dungeon Diver (Level 1) Acquired! >>**
* **Effect:** +5% movement speed, +5% Perception, and minor resistance to environmental hazards within dungeon environments.
---
Kelvin stood taller, the weight of the levels settling into his bones like forged steel. He allocated the points swiftly: 10 to **STR** (now 22), 10 to **VIT** (now 27), 10 to **INT** (now 30). The surge of raw power, endurance, and mental clarity was staggering. He flexed his hands, the **Blood War Chains** coiling lazily around his forearms, the obsidian metal gleaming, the crimson veins pulsing with satisfied power. The barbs looked hungry.
He examined the evolved chains. The **+2 bonus** was an intrinsic sharpness, a lethal edge he could feel in their weight and balance. **Venom of the Void** was a terrifying weapon, a once-per-day alpha strike. **Grasp of the Forsaken** added devastating battlefield control, turning every hit into a potential death sentence, pulling foes into point-blank range for execution or into environmental hazards.
The massive rune-carved door began to glow, then dissolved into swirling shadows, revealing not an exit, but a small, dark chamber. In its center, hovering over a simple pedestal, was a single item: a small, obsidian whetstone etched with faint, glowing crimson runes.
**<< Reward Claimed: Void-Forged Whetstone >>**
* **Type:** Upgrade Material (Unique)
* **Effect:** Can be used once to permanently enhance the Blood War Chains, adding +1d6 Necrotic damage to all attacks. Consumed on use.
---
Kelvin took the cold stone. It hummed in resonance with his chains. He didn't use it yet. This was a tool for later, for when he faced greater threats.
He turned away from the empty chamber. The portal back to the park shimmered into existence behind him. He stepped through, the chill violet gloom replaced by warm afternoon sunlight filtering through rhododendron leaves. The scent of grass and distant traffic replaced ozone and blood. He looked down at his hands. No blood. No venom. Just the faint, satisfied hum of the **Blood War Chains** beneath his skin, now instruments of refined destruction.
He was no longer just an F-rank anomaly. He was Level 15. He was the Forsaken Architect, forged in the shadows of his own proving grounds. He had the chains, the venom, the pull. He had the levels. Vincent, Evelyn, the Association's scrutiny... they were still threats. But now, he was a threat right back. The path ahead remained dangerous, but he walked it armed with the power he had claimed in the silence of his personal abyss. The key to shadows had opened the door, and he had stepped through, returning stronger, deadlier, and ready for the war to come.