The study was silent, save for the rhythmic ticking of an antique clock. Kael stood before the heavy oak desk, his senses spreading out like invisible tendrils.
He bypassed the obvious drawers. Silas was too smart to leave important documents in a place a maid could stumble upon. He focused on the wall behind the desk. A painting of a stern-looking Lockwood ancestor hung there.
KEEN HEARING: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Kael focused on the subtle reverberations in the wall. Behind the painting, the echo was hollow.
He reached up and lifted the painting. Behind it sat a sleek, biometric safe. No keypad, no dial. Just a handprint scanner and a retinal reader.
"Paranoid," Kael muttered.
He couldn't force it open physically without triggering alarms. And he certainly didn't have Silas's eyeball. Yet.
He placed his hand on the safe door. He let a tiny stream of mana seep into the locking mechanism, feeling the tumblers and the mana-circuitry inside.
TELEKINESIS: MICRO-MANIPULATION
He felt the internal latches. They were heavy, reinforced with mana. But the electronic sensor that controlled them was delicate.
He sent a jolt of lightning—tiny, precise—into the wiring.
Zzt.
Sparks flew. The mechanism clicked.
OPEN.
The safe door swung open.
Inside, there was a stack of files, a small vial of glowing red liquid, and a heavy, black keycard made of a material Kael didn't recognize.
He picked up the keycard.
SYSTEM SCANITEM: DUNGEON KEY (SPECIAL GRADE)ACCESS: PORTABLE DUNGEON GATE - "THE DRAGON BONE"STATUS: ACTIVE
The Sunken Spire. That was the dungeon Silas had mentioned. The one the Hart family was interested in.
He grabbed the vial next.
ITEM: CONCENTRATED VITALITY ESSENCEGRADE: AEFFECT: PERMANENT INCREASE TO PHYSIQUE STATS.
Kael's eyes widened. A-rank item. In a safe in her house. The arrogance of the nobility was astounding.
He uncorked it and downed it in one gulp.
GULP.
The liquid tasted like copper and fire. It rushed down his throat and exploded in his stomach.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONSTAT BOOST DETECTEDVITALITY +10STRENGTH +5REGENERATION RATE INCREASED.
He felt his muscles densify, his bones hardening. The constant, dull ache from his earlier fights vanished. He felt... clean. Powerful.
He pocketed the black keycard. The files he left—he didn't have time to read them now. He closed the safe, re-wired the lock so it looked untouched, and hung the painting back up.
Now, for the second course.
He slipped out the study window, landing softly on the grass. The garden was vast, a maze of hedges and exotic flowers. The morning sun was warm, birds were chirping.
It was disgusting how peaceful it was.
Kael moved through the shadows of the hedge line until he spotted the gardener.
The man was older, maybe fifty, with a weather-beaten face and rough hands. He was pruning a rose bush with a pair of shears. He looked like a civilian.
But Kael knew better.
His stance, Kael noted. Feet shoulder-width apart. Weight on the balls of his feet. He's not leaning on the shears; he's holding them like a weapon.
And there was a faint bulge under his loose flannel shirt. A gun? Or a knife?
"Excuse me," Kael called out, stepping out from the hedge.
The gardener spun around instantly. His hand went to his side, then relaxed when he saw Kael.
"Can I help you, sir?" the man asked. His voice was gravelly. "The estate is private. Visitors should be at the front gate."
"I'm a guest," Kael said, walking closer. He smiled, a boyish, harmless grin. "Lyra's boyfriend. I was just looking for a bathroom and got turned around. Big house."
The gardener's eyes narrowed. He scanned Kael—the scars, the muscles, the intensity.
"You're the tournament winner," the man said. "Kael."
"That's me."
"You should head back inside. Mrs. Lockwood doesn't like strays in the garden."
Stray. There's that word again.
Kael stopped ten feet away. He tilted his head.
"You're ex-military," Kael stated. It wasn't a question. "Private security, hired by the family?"
The gardener's expression didn't change, but his grip on the shears tightened. "I'm just a gardener, son."
"No," Kael said, his voice dropping. "You're a guard dog. And right now... I'm hungry."
The gardener's eyes widened. He sensed the shift in the air. He dropped the shears and reached under his shirt, pulling out a short, curved blade.
"Stop right there, boy. I don't know what you think—"
SPEED BLITZ
Kael vanished.
The gardener's brain barely processed the movement before Kael was inside his guard. Kael slapped the blade out of his hand and grabbed him by the throat.
SLAM.
Kael pinned the man against the garden wall, hidden from the house by the thick hedges.
"Wha—" The man choked, clawing at Kael's iron grip. "How...? You're D-Rank..."
"D-Rank is enough to kill a retired C-Rank who's gotten slow," Kael whispered.
The man's eyes widened in terror. He kicked out, trying to activate his own ability—a surge of earth magic to trap Kael's feet.
The ground rumbled.
Kael didn't care. He lifted the man off his feet and squeezed.
"Shhh," Kael soothed. "Don't make a mess."
He pressed his other hand against the man's chest.
DEVOUR INITIATED
The gardener gasped as his mana began to rip from his body. His skin grayed. His struggles weakened.
"You... monster..." the man rasped.
"Learned from the best," Kael replied coldly.
CONSUMPTION COMPLETEMANA ABSORBED: 150XP GAINED: 300ABILITY ROLL: 30%ROLLING...
ROLL SUCCESS!ABILITY ACQUIRED: [EARTH SENSE] (GRADE: D)DESCRIPTION: ABILITY TO DETECT VIBRATIONS THROUGH THE GROUND AND SENSE GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES.
The man crumbled to ash, mixing with the fertilizer at the base of the roses.
LEVEL UP!LEVEL 30 → 31LEVEL 31 → 32
Kael stood up, dusting his hands. He felt the new ability settle in his mind. If he closed his eyes, he could feel the vibration of Lyra walking around inside the house. He could feel the hum of the electric fence. He could feel the roots of the trees.
Quite Useful.
He picked up the curved blade the gardener had dropped. It was a Tier 3 weapon, well-balanced. He tucked it into his belt, under his shirt.
He walked back to the house, calm and collected.
He climbed back through the study window just as the door opened.
Lyra walked in. She looked anxious.
"Kael? I was looking for you. Dad went to his study."
"I was just browsing," Kael said, gesturing to the bookshelves. He walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He smelled of fresh air and faint ozone. "I found something interesting."
"What?"
"Your mother is working on a project involving the Hart family," Kael said, lying smoothly. He needed to plant the seed. "I heard the servants talking. They mentioned a dungeon key."
Lyra frowned. "The Dragon bones? Yeah, Mom's company manages the gate. It's a high-level zone. Why?"
"The Hart family," Kael said, his eyes darkening. "They're the ones who... they have connections to the people who hurt my family, Lyra."
Lyra gasped. "What? But they are one of the Founding Families!"
"They have a dark side," Kael said. "I need to get into that dungeon, Lyra. I need to see what they're hiding there. I need to get strong enough to face them."
Lyra looked torn. "But... that's Mom's territory. The security is insane. And the Harts are dangerous, Kael. Especially Sarae. He's... he's a monster."
Sarae.
The name hit Kael like a physical blow. His brother. The one who was taken.
"He's going to be there?" Kael asked, his voice tight.
"Maybe. If the Harts are sending a representative, he usually leads the expeditions."
Kael turned away, hiding the flash of emotion. His brother. The elder brother he hadn't seen in years. The one with the Ageless Physique.
Did Sarae know what happened to him? Did he care? Or was he just another Hart puppet?
"I need to get in," Kael repeated. "Can you get me a pass? Or a uniform? I can sneak in as an assistant or a porter."
Lyra hesitated. She looked at Kael—his desperate, 'broken' eyes. She remembered the night they shared. She remembered her mother's coldness.
She made her choice.
"The facility has a loading dock for mana-stone shipments," Lyra said quietly. "I know the head of logistics. He... owes my dad a favor. I can get you a temporary worker's badge. It won't grant access to the labs, but it gets you inside the perimeter."
Kael turned back to her. He kissed her forehead.
"Thank you, Lyra. You're saving my life."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find out the truth," Kael said.
He didn't tell her the hello would likely involve a blade or a mouth full of teeth.
"I'll go make the call," Lyra said. "Meet me in my room in an hour."
She left.
Kael watched her go. He pulled the black keycard from his pocket and twirled it between his fingers.
QUEST UPDATE: THE INHERITANCE
OBJECTIVE: INFILTRATE THE LOCKWOOD RESEARCH FACILITY.
TIME LIMIT: 24 HOURS.
REWARD: HART FAMILY INTEL, 1000 XP.
Kael smiled.
The game was changing.