The umbraclaw locked its sunken black eyes onto me, its ragged feathers shifting as it took a lurching step forward. The air around it seemed darker, more oppressive, as if it was warping the light itself. I gritted my teeth and steadied my breathing .

  I activated levitation and kicked off the ground, using the momentum to push myself onto the side of a nearby building. My feet landed solidly against the vertical surface, clinging to the wall as I sprinted upward. The monster screeched and burst forward with an explosion of movement, its wings flapping hard enough to send debris flying. I barely had time to react before it was on me, beak stabbing forward like a spear.

  I twisted my body mid run, barely avoiding the razor sharp beak as it punctured the stone wall with a sickening crunch. The impact cracked the surface, and I took the opportunity to vault onto a nearby ledge.

  Manifesting a spear in my right hand, I hurled it directly at the creature’s exposed flank. The Umbraclaw twisted unnaturally, its entire form flickering into shadow for an instant before reappearing three feet away. The spear struck nothing but air before dissipating.

  Teleportation , sure why not?.

  That meant I couldn’t rely on direct attacks.

  The Umbraclaw’s wings flared as it launched itself at me again. This time, I dropped down, using my levitation to slow my descent. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I manifested two energy darts and flung them forward. They zipped through the air, glowing faintly before hitting its patchy feathers. The creature let out a guttural cry, stumbling back as tendrils of energy crackled around the impact points. Not enough damage to kill, but it hurt.

  I darted forward, forming a short sword in my grip. If ranged attacks weren’t doing enough, I’d have to get in close. The Umbraclaw recovered faster than I expected, twisting its body in midair as it lashed out with its taloned foot. I raised my blade to intercept, but the force behind its kick sent me skidding back. My feet barely managed to grip the surface before I slammed into a nearby pillar.

  No time to recover. The creature lunged, beak first. I ducked and rolled, barely avoiding a lethal strike. Instead of standing my ground, I pushed off the ground with levitation and flipped onto a narrow beam above the street. The Umbraclaw shrieked and disappeared into the shadows again.

  I exhaled sharply, gripping my sword tighter. The moment it reappeared, I was ready. Before it could fully materialize, I dropped a small energy trap beneath me. The instant the Umbraclaw emerged from the darkness, its clawed foot landed directly onto the glowing sphere . The trap activated with a sharp crack, collection of wires wrapped around it,

  binding it, I took my chance.

  I manifested another weapon, this time, a long glaive with a curved blade. I lunged, slashing diagonally across its exposed torso. The strike connected, slicing through matted feathers and biting into flesh. Black ichor sprayed out, the creature staggering back with another shriek of pain and it spread its wings tearing through its binding.

  It flapped its wings wildly, taking to the air in a sudden, rapid burst of speed. Before I could follow up, it vanished into the shadows once again.

  I clenched my jaw. It was learning. That was a problem.

  Instead of waiting for it to attack, I adjusted my stance. I knew it would go for an ambush, it had done so twice already. I activated my astral sight , looking for any distortions. The moment I caught even a flicker of energy , I threw three energy darts in a wide spread.

  The Umbraclaw emerged from a shadowed alley just in time to take one dart directly to the side of its head. The impact sent it spiraling out of its teleport, crashing into the street below. I didn’t hesitate. I ran down the side of the building, landing in a crouch before charging forward with my glaive.

  The creature screeched and flailed, trying to push itself up with its tattered wings. I swung with all my strength, aiming for its vulnerable neck but it flickered into shadows again.

  Damn it.

  I spun around just in time to see it reappear above me, its beak descending like a dagger. I barely managed to shift my weight, avoiding a direct stab, but its clawed foot raked across my shoulder. Pain flared through my body as I stumbled back, blood soaking through my tunic.

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  The Umbraclaw landed and spread its wings, its wounded body trembling with fury. It was panting, bleeding, but still very much alive.

  I had to end this.

  I steadied my breathing, lowering my stance. This thing relied on teleportation and short bursts of flight, but that also meant it needed to touch down between each movement. If I could predict where it would land, I could force it into a bad position.

  I placed another energy trap behind me, making sure to mask its glow slightly. Then I raised my weapon and taunted it. "Come on, you ugly bastard. Try me."

  The Umbraclaw took the bait. It shrieked and shot forward with blinding speed. But I wasn’t there when it arrived. I kicked off the ground at the last moment, flipping over its body as it slammed straight into the spiked trap. The moment it triggered, I manifested another weapon, a halberd, and swung downward with everything I had.

  The blade struck true,the axe head embedding deep into the Umbraclaw’s back. It screeched, writhing, its form flickering as if trying to escape into the shadows. But I wasn’t about to let it. I twisted the weapon,I stomped on the shaft until the blade severed its spine and whatever organs it still had and the Umbraclaw collapsed to the ground, twitching violently before going still.

  I took a step back, breathing heavily. The fight had taken more out of me than I expected, but I had won.

  I let out a shaky breath and dismissed my weapon, looking down at the corpse. Black ichor pooled beneath it, the once menacing creature reduced to nothing more than a smoking lifeless husk. Whatever it had once been, whatever world it had come from, it was gone now.

  I exhaled sharply and turned away. I had more work to do.

  This was just the beginning.

  Umbersclaw (lev 97) killed ! +97 EXP (Additional +16 due to level difference)

  I looted the shadow beast, netting me another uncommon crystal.

  I wanted to remain longer, but the pulling on my tether was getting too much to bear. So, I took a few steady breaths, focused on the connection to my physical body, and just like that, I was back.

  I lay on my bed for a while, going over my progression from the past few days. I was definitely getting stronger. My fighting skills were still erratic and improvised, but I was starting to get a better handle on the panic. I definitely needed a training montage, though. With that in mind, I opened my status.

  Skills: levitation ( common) level 47

  Manifestation ( common) level 69

  Astral sight ( common) level 43 +4

  Inspection ( common) level 45

  Astral echo (unique) level 10

  Looting (uncommon) level 5

  Energy manipulation (rare) level 10

  I hadn’t leveled up these past two days, but my skills had seen a nice boost.

  I tried activating my abilities again, but something was still preventing me from using them on Earth. Frustrated, I got up, took a shower, and had a quick breakfast before deciding to walk around town to check out the damage.

  Throwing on a hoodie, I headed out, trying to avoid interactions. Still, I got a few friendly nods and hellos along the way.

  As soon as I arrived at the battle site, I took in the destruction. The bus stop I had been thrown into was shattered, walls bore clear impact marks, and even the two deep lines on the road where I had been dragged were still visible.

  A crowd had already gathered, inspecting the damage. I approached the back and started listening in. The prevalent theory was that it had been a hit and run. Some people suggested vandalism, while an older gentleman insisted it was a terrorist attack. Why terrorists would target an empty bus stop in the middle of the night was beyond me, but honestly, that theory was still more plausible than what had actually happened.

  I wove through the crowd, earning a few protests, but those quickly faded once people saw me. With a few polite nods, I reached the police barricade, where officers were taking pictures and keeping bystanders at bay. I edged closer to two officers engaged in conversation.

  The younger officer, a blonde woman, asked her partner, "What exactly happened here?"

  The older officer responded nonchalantly, "Who the fuck knows? I heard the video surveillance stopped working last night."

  "Seriously? That sounds suspicious."

  Her partner laughed. "Not really. The city administration just doesn’t care about maintenance. Where all our taxes are going? I have no idea."

  Was that really a coincidence? If it was, then I had gotten extremely lucky. But something told me this was just more astral bullshit.

  I moved away and continued walking. The crisp winter air felt good against my skin. The cold had never really bothered me, but at this point, it was getting ridiculous. I was only wearing a thin cotton hoodie, and I still felt fine. If this kept up, I’d be walking around in shorts and a tank top in the middle of winter and I fundamentally refused to do that.

  I spent the rest of the day unwinding, having lunch outside, catching up on the news, and reading different chapters from the stories I was following. Fantasy felt a bit redundant now, given everything I’d experienced, but it still helped ground me. And who knows? I might even learn something useful. As weird as it sounded, this was the best research material I could get my hands on, with the added bonus of being fun to read.

  Eventually, I made my way back home, grabbed a quick sandwich, and suited up in my post apocalyptic outfit. The boots I looted unfortunately, like the rest of my gear, didn’t travel with me back to earth and their attached skill didn’t work either , coil stick to walls, believe me, I tried.

  Before long, I was back in the Astral.