CHAPTER 4: Blood and Growth
The hunt had begun.
Three Skarnlings burst from the shadows, their distorted screeches tearing through the damp cavern.
Their movements —
Fast.
Sharp.
Coordinated.
Lucius's gaze hardened.
They're learning…
Or rather —
They had always been like this.
Pack hunters.
Efficient.
Deadly.
One charged straight at him.
The other two split apart instantly, circling from both sides.
A perfect pincer.
Lucius exhaled slowly.
His breathing steadied.
His mind —
Cold.
Clear.
Focused.
Step.
He shifted his body slightly, letting the first Skarnling's claws scrape past him.
Sparks flew as its claws collided with stone.
But there was no pause.
The second one was already there.
Slash!
Lucius twisted his torso, narrowly avoiding the strike —
But not completely.
A shallow tear opened along his side.
Pain flared.
His eyes didn't change.
Instead —
Flicker.
Space distorted.
Lucius vanished.
And reappeared several steps away.
His breath tightened.
"…Still too costly."
Even after increasing his mana —
Teleportation remained a double-edged sword.
Use it too much —
And he dies.
Don't use it —
And he dies.
Simple.
The third Skarnling lunged.
Mid-air.
Claws aimed directly at his face.
Lucius raised his sword.
Clang!
The impact reverberated through his arms, forcing him backward. His grip trembled slightly.
Too much force.
"…Tch."
His body couldn't handle prolonged exchanges.
Not yet.
But —
That didn't matter.
He adjusted.
Adapted.
Survived.
The Skarnling pressed forward aggressively.
Lucius's eyes sharpened.
Then —
He changed.
His stance shifted.
Subtle.
But precise.
The moment he had killed the previous Skarnling —
Something had shifted inside him. Not dramatically. Not instantly. But present — like a gear that had finally caught.
Now —
He understood.
Grip.
Balance.
Angle.
Flow.
The sword in his hand no longer felt foreign.
It felt —
Usable.
The Skarnling lunged again.
Lucius stepped in.
Not back —
Forward.
His blade moved.
Cleaner.
Faster.
More controlled.
Slash!
The edge cut across the creature's neck.
Blood sprayed.
The Skarnling collapsed.
[You have slain a Skarnling]
[+10 EXP]
[+1 Stat Point]
Two left.
No hesitation.
The remaining two attacked simultaneously.
Left.
Right.
Lucius moved between them.
His footwork —
Unstable before —
Now had rhythm.
He tilted his body, allowing one attack to pass —
Then pivoted.
His sword thrust forward.
Pierce!
The blade sank into the second Skarnling's chest.
The creature shrieked —
Still alive.
"Tough…"
Before he could finish —
The last Skarnling leapt.
Claws tearing toward his throat.
Lucius's eyes flashed.
Flicker.
He vanished.
And reappeared behind it.
This time —
No delay.
*Slash!*
Its head fell.
The body collapsed.
A moment later —
The second Skarnling dropped, lifeless.
Silence returned.
Only the sound of dripping water remained.
Lucius stood still.
His chest rose and fell steadily.
Pain pulsed through his arms.
His mana —
Low.
"…I need to be more efficient."
Then —
The system responded.
[You have slain a Skarnling]
[+10 EXP]
[+1 Stat Point]
[You have slain a Skarnling]
[+10 EXP]
[+1 Stat Point]
[Level Up]
[Level 2 Reached]
[+3 Stat Points Rewarded]
A faint warmth spread through his body.
Refreshing.
Stabilizing.
Not healing —
But enough.
Lucius's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…So this is leveling."
Then —
Another notification appeared.
[Skill Acquired]
[Basic Sword Mastery – Lv 1]
For a brief moment —
The world slowed.
Knowledge flooded his mind.
Angles of attack.
Proper stance.
Efficient movement.
How to conserve strength.
How to kill faster.
Cleaner.
Better.
Lucius exhaled slowly.
"…Now this is useful."
He opened his status window and studied it in silence.
---
[Status Window]
Name: Lucius van Venus
Title: Overlord of the Abyss
Level: 2
Talents: Teleportation (God Tier) — Law of One (God Tier)
Skills: Basic Sword Mastery – Lv 1
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Mana: 9
Sensitivity: 6
Endurance: 5
Available Stat Points: 3
---
He stared at the numbers for a long moment.
Three points.
His mind moved through the options methodically.
Strength would help — but not enough to matter yet. His body was too untrained to make meaningful use of raw power. Sensitivity would sharpen his awareness, but experience could develop that naturally over time.
What he needed was survival.
Speed to avoid what he couldn't block.
And a body that wouldn't betray him mid-fight.
"Agility… and Endurance."
[+2 Agility]
[+1 Endurance]
A subtle shift passed through him.
His body felt lighter. More responsive. The faint trembling in his legs — the kind that had been there since he first stepped inside — steadied.
His breathing —
Smoother.
"…Better."
He closed the window.
His thoughts drifted briefly — not with relief, but with clarity.
He understood this world now, at least in part.
Talents were everything here. Not skills. Not training. Not effort alone. Something deeper — engraved into a person's existence from the moment they awakened at eighteen. A person with a low-grade Talent could dedicate their entire life to growth and still never reach the ceiling of someone born with a higher one.
Effort mattered.
But Talent —
Was absolute.
That was the cruel truth of this world.
His father carried a Legendary Talent — Sword Manipulation. A power that had placed him at the forefront of a war against a calamity-class beast, SS-rank, the kind of creature that reshaped battlefields. He had survived. Barely. And returned carrying wounds that never fully healed — and a name whispered with equal parts fear and respect.
Sword Demon.
Julius carried a Divine Talent. Already walking a path far beyond ordinary people, already standing above most of the nobility without effort.
And then there was Lucius.
God Tier.
Two of them.
Teleportation — a power that moved through space itself. Broken in potential. Brutal in cost. A double-edged ability that demanded precision he was still developing.
And Law of One —
Something he still didn't fully understand. The ability to combine. To unify. To push past limitations in ways that hadn't revealed themselves yet.
He was, by the measure of this world's absolute standard —
At the very top.
And yet —
His body was weak. His stats were low. His experience was almost nothing.
A contradiction.
Absolute potential trapped inside a fragile vessel.
A faint smile formed on his lips.
Because he understood something simple.
Growth had no ceiling.
As long as he kept moving forward —
This gap would disappear.
Then —
A sound echoed through the cavern.
Different from before.
Heavier.
Each step slow and deliberate.
Thud.
…Thud.
…Thud.
Lucius's gaze lifted.
His instincts sharpened instantly.
From the darkness —
It emerged.
Larger than the Skarnlings. Far larger. Its body thick with dense muscle, skin darkened and hardened like natural armor. Claws longer. Sharper. Its yellow eyes glowed with something deeper than hunger —
Something closer to intent.
A Skarn Tyrant.
Lucius exhaled slowly.
"…So there are variants."
Good.
Stronger enemies meant better rewards. Faster growth. A shorter distance between what he was and what he needed to become.
His grip tightened around the sword.
His stance lowered —
More refined now. More controlled. The Basic Sword Mastery settling into his muscles like something that had always been there, waiting to be unlocked.
His mana stirred quietly within him.
His eyes turned cold.
"Come."
The Skarn Tyrant roared —
A deep, violent sound that shook loose dust from the cavern ceiling.
Then it charged.
Faster than its size suggested.
Lucius didn't move.
He watched.
Calculated.
Waited.
The real hunt begins now.
---
To Be Continued…..