Their combat style blends brute melee strength with supernatural darkness, overwhelming enemies through intimidation, terror, and cursed augmentation.
Starting Skills upon Job Change:
Art of Fear –
Dark Enhancement –
Passive Ability:
Melee Weapon Proficiency (Dark Variant) – Instantly gain basic mastery over swords, axes, spears, and two-handed melee weapons. While wielding melee weapons, gain a 2% bonus to attack speed and power.
Key Traits:
Draws strength from rage, pain, or corruption.
Weapon attacks have a chance to apply "Terror" or "Weakness" debuffs.
Some skills scale with negative emotions or fear levels in the area.
Perfect for soloing or overwhelming weaker enemies with pressure and darkness.
Role in Team:
The Dark Knight is an intimidating frontliner, sowing chaos among enemy ranks and weakening foes before a decisive blow. In team compositions, they serve as both an enforcer and a psychological weapon—undermining morale and fortifying the party with sheer dread.
Warning:
The path of the Dark Knight is one of struggle. Though powerful, the darkness that grants this strength may also seek to consume the user's mind, affecting future job evolutions or moral decisions.]
Abigail's voice trembled slightly, her professionalism cracking for the first time. "Mr. Ethan… hidden professions like this—they're not supposed to appear without special circumstance." Her fingers brushed the air as if trying to shut down the projection, but it ignored her commands.
The lights in the Career Center flickered, shadows stretching unnaturally along the marble floor. Even the digital panels on the wall dimmed to a pulse that matched the beating of Ethan's heart.
He didn't hesitate. His eyes hardened with iron resolve.
"I choose to change jobs to Dark Knight."
Abigail inhaled sharply, her chest rising beneath her fitted white blouse as she stepped closer. "You—are you sure? Once the contract is sealed, there's no going back."
Ethan's gaze met hers briefly, calm and unwavering. "Power never comes without cost. I've already paid more than most ever will."
Her lips parted as if to protest, but before she could, the ground beneath Ethan erupted with a surge of black light.
A circular magic array bloomed under his feet, vast and intricate, spinning with arcane runes that shifted like living shadows. The temperature dropped; frost crept across the marble tiles as the light climbed his legs, swirling around him like liquid smoke.
Abigail could only watch in stunned silence, the soft amber glow of her eyes reflecting the storm of energy around him. She looked almost ethereal in that half-light—an angel standing witness to a man's descent into forbidden power.
The light consumed him completely.
In the next instant, Ethan's body dissolved into motes of shadow.
---
When awareness returned, he was no longer in the Career Center.
He stood in the heart of a temple cloaked in perpetual twilight—its black stone walls engraved with symbols of vengeance and fallen stars. Columns of obsidian reached toward a ceiling that seemed to melt into an endless night sky. Faint whispers drifted through the air, neither hostile nor kind, merely ancient.
Ethan's boots echoed against the cold marble as he looked around. The magical array beneath him pulsed one final time, its dark tendrils coiling upward, seeping into his skin like ink.
A rush of energy exploded inside him.
The darkness didn't feel foreign—it felt familiar. It filled the spaces within him that pain had hollowed out, replacing despair with purpose, fear with clarity.
Two runes of obsidian light carved themselves deep into his sea of consciousness, locking in place like the brand of destiny itself.
[[Art of Fear – Level 2]
Type: Active
Effect:
Unleash a surge of oppressive dark energy that pierces into the hearts of creatures, shaking their courage and eroding their will to fight. Upon activation, affected biological targets will lose 5 Spirit points temporarily and be inflicted with Fear, disrupting their ability to act effectively in combat.
Single-Target Mode: Can be cast on one target up to 200 meters away.
Area Mode: Can affect all targets within a 20-meter radius, ideal for crowd control in clustered engagements.
Effectiveness: Targets with low Spirit are more vulnerable—those with insufficient mental resilience may panic, hesitate, or even flee.
Cost:
Consumes 3 MP per cast.
Cooldown: None – can be cast repeatedly as long as MP is available.
Description:
A psychological weapon cloaked in supernatural dread, Art of Fear does not harm the body—but breaks the will. This ability is a Dark Knight's tool of dominance, weakening enemies before a single blow is struck. Against the unprepared or emotionally fragile, this skill can end battles before they begin.]
[[Dark Enhancement – Level 2]
Type: Passive
Effect:
Embrace the darkness and awaken your senses beyond the veil of night. Upon learning this skill, your body becomes attuned to the shadows, granting the following permanent enhancements:
Night Vision: You can see clearly in total darkness—farther and sharper than under daylight conditions.
Enhanced Senses: At night, your perception becomes finely tuned. You will detect faint sounds, subtle movements, and hidden threats with ease.
Danger Premonition: Your instincts become sharper in low-light environments, allowing you to sense ambushes, hostile intent, and incoming danger moments before they occur.
Description:
A signature trait of the Dark Knight lineage, Dark Enhancement makes the night your ally. While others are blind and vulnerable under the moonlight, you thrive—becoming a predator in the shadows. Whether stalking prey or defending allies from unseen threats, this passive ability turns the darkness into your battlefield.]
After the job change is completed, the dark power lingering besides Ethan also vanishes.
Ethan exhaled slowly. The weight of his new strength was staggering—yet strangely balanced.
"Dark Knight…" he whispered, clenching his fist. A faint, smoky aura radiated from his body, twisting the air around him.
Then, his lips curved in a faint smirk. "A fitting title."
Ethan lowered his head slightly, lost in thought as he pieced together the potential applications of his new abilities. His mind moved fast—an intricate dance of logic, foresight, and ruthless calculation. Every skill was a potential tool, a weapon, a safeguard in this twisted new world where the line between man and monster blurred with every passing hour.
When his thoughts finally steadied, he lifted his gaze and began to walk toward the center of the temple. Each step echoed faintly across the obsidian floor, reverberating through the air like a low heartbeat.
The temple itself seemed alive—its ancient pillars etched with crawling runes that pulsed faintly with black and violet hues. Shadows swayed and bent unnaturally, whispering faint secrets that tempted the mind to listen.
At the heart of this vast, eerie sanctum stood a towering figure clad in armor blacker than the black itself. Intricate, glowing runes were engraved across his chestplate and shoulders, shimmering with faint spectral light. The armor bore no scratches, no dents—only a perfect, dreadful elegance. The man's presence radiated power so heavy and suffocating that it pressed down on Ethan's lungs.
The Dark Knight didn't move. He stood there as still as a statue carved from midnight, emanating a silent, dreadful authority. His eyes, hidden beneath a jagged helm, flickered faintly like embers behind a dying flame.
Ethan stopped before him and spoke, his tone calm but respectful. "I am a new Dark Knight who has just undergone job change, Sir. I'd like to purchase the class skills."
The armored figure's head tilted slightly. Without a word, he raised one gauntleted hand and gestured toward the air.
A resonant hum filled the temple as glowing runes coalesced in midair. A massive three-dimensional projection unfolded before Ethan, displaying a list of skills framed in crimson light.
Nine skills in total—three of level one, six of level two—each shimmering with their own dark allure.
Ethan scanned through them quickly. His mind was sharp, and his meta knowledge of similar systems gave him instant insight. Still, when he saw the prices, a faint grimace crossed his face.
"Expensive…" he muttered under his breath.
Each level one skill demanded 300 Survival Coins, and the level two ones—1,000 each.
Yet, his attention was caught instantly by the advanced list. His eyes gleamed with that familiar spark of hunger. "Summon Skeleton Beast… Dark Beast Taming… Shadow Step…" He whispered the names, savoring their potential. "Every single one of these is insane."
He knew it well—these weren't beginner abilities. In the hands of someone clever enough to exploit their full potential, they were game-changing tools.
Ethan's gaze darted rapidly from one to another, calculating their synergy, their practical value in the real world. His mind churned, assessing how each skill could turn the tide when facing both monsters and men.
Finally, his decision was made. With a decisive motion, he selected one of the advanced abilities.
A dark flash enveloped his form as the system deducted his coins. The chosen skill shimmered, then turned into a black streak of light that darted forward, piercing between his brows and vanishing into the depths of his consciousness.
He felt it settle within his sea of knowledge, burning itself into existence as a black rune, radiating a grim power.
[[Encompassing Body Armor – Level 2]
Type: Active
Effect:
Covers your body in the already summoned undying creature to form a semi-sentient armor around your body. This grotesque yet powerful shell fuses with the caster, providing enhanced protection against both physical and magical attacks.
Absorbs a portion of incoming damage.
Immune to low-tier viral infections while active.
Slightly enhances intimidation factor toward lower-level enemies.
Initial Cost:
Consumes 10 MP and 10 Stamina Points upon activation.
Duration:
15 minutes per activation.
Cooldown:
None – Can be recast once duration ends, as long as resources are available.
Description:
Wrought from death and bound by dark energy, Encompassing Body Armor is not just a shield—it's a statement of defiance. Cloaked in the bones of the undying, the caster walks the battlefield as a grim juggernaut, shrugging off attacks that would cripple others. Ideal for frontline warriors, death mages, or anyone who dares to wear death as their second skin.]
Ethan exhaled softly, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The skill pulsed faintly within him, eager to be unleashed.
But then, he lifted his gaze once more toward the silent sentinel before him. He hesitated for a moment, then asked with genuine respect, "Senior… may I ask if you have any advice for me?"
For a heartbeat, silence. Then, the Dark Knight's helm tilted forward, the dim embers behind his visor igniting faintly.
When he finally spoke, his voice was deep, metallic, and cold as the grave.
"Be ruthless."
The words struck Ethan harder than any blow.
"If your heart is not ruthless," the Dark Knight continued, "you will not survive long. Mercy is a luxury for the strong."