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.
Predictable.
—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 killed the previous Skarnling—
Something had changed.
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.
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
Lucius stared at the panel.
Two points.
This time—
There was no hesitation.
"Agility… and Endurance."
He needed speed.
And a body that wouldn't collapse under pressure.
[+2 Agility]
[+1 Endurance]
A subtle shift passed through him.
His body felt lighter.
More responsive.
More stable.
His breathing—
Smoother.
"…Better."
Not strong.
But improving.
That was enough.
For now.
Then—
A sound echoed.
Different.
Heavier.
Each step—
Slow.
Deliberate.
Thud.
…Thud.
…Thud.
Lucius's gaze lifted.
His instincts sharpened instantly.
Something was coming.
Something stronger.
From the darkness—
It emerged.
Larger than the others.
Its body thick with muscle.
Its skin darker, almost hardened like armor.
Claws longer.
Sharper.
Its yellow eyes glowed with a deeper, more violent hunger.
A presence far above the others.
A Skarn Tyrant.
Lucius exhaled slowly.
"…So there are variants."
Good.
That meant stronger enemies.
Better rewards.
Faster growth.
A faint smile formed on his lips.
His grip tightened around the sword.
His stance lowered.
More refined now.
More controlled.
More deadly.
His mana stirred quietly within him.
His eyes—
Turned cold.
"Come."
>The Skarn Tyrant roared—
A deep, violent sound that shook the cavern.
Then it charged.
Faster than its size suggested.
Lucius didn't move.
He watched.
Calculated.
Waited.
The real hunt begins now...
—
PART 1: TALENTS!
What is Talent?
In this world…
Talents were everything.
They were not simply abilities or skills that one could train
or acquire over time.
They were something deeper—
Something engraved into the very existence of a person.
From the moment one awakened their Talent at the age
of eighteen…
Their path was decided.
Their limits were defined..
Their future—
Already shaped.
A person with low grade Talents could train their entire
Life....
And still never surpass someone born with a higher one.
Effort mattered.
But Talent—
Was absolute.
That was the cruel truth of this world.
Although there are people who try to transcend their
limits... And there are people who uses different methods
To transcend their limits either evil or righteous way..
Those people are called "TRANCENDER'S".
Talents were classified into ranks:
Common → Rare → Unique → Divine → Legendary → God Tier
Each rank represented a difference so vast…
That it was often compared to the gap between earth and sky.
Common Talents—
The most widespread.
Barely enough to survive.
These individuals filled the lower ranks of society,
struggling endlessly just to live.
Rare Talents and Unique Talents—
The point where individuals could begin to step beyond ordinary limits.
Those who possessed such abilities were typically strong enough to enter and survive lower-ranked dungeons.
E-rank dungeons posed little challenge to them…
While D-rank required caution.
And C-rank—
Was often their limit.
Beyond that…
Survival was no longer guaranteed.
Divine Talents—
Extremely rare.
Powers that elevated their wielders far above the masses.
Individuals with such Talents were often found among the ruling class—
Nobles, elites…
Those destined to stand at the top of society.
Julius van Venus—
Lucius's older brother—
Was one of them.
A wielder of a Divine Talent.
A being already walking a path far beyond ordinary individuals.
Legendary Talents—
The kind that shaped kingdoms…
Or destroyed them.
Individuals who possessed such Talents stood at the peak of power beneath the absolute.
And in the entire world—
There were only a few known individuals…
Who possessed Legendary Talents.
Among them—
Demitri De Van Venus.
Lucius's father.
The head of the Venus family.
A man whose strength alone was enough to uphold the fading prestige of their house.
Even among nobles…
He stood above most.
Years ago, during the great outbreak when monsters began to spawn endlessly across the lands, he stood at the forefront of the war.
It was there he faced a calamity-class beast—
Draxian, the Storm of Leviathan, a creature ranked at SS danger level.
Due to the mismanagement and strategic failures of the Brett Family during that war…
What should have been a controlled engagement turned into chaos.
And though he survived—
Demitri returned…
Injured.
And he was later called "SWORD DEMON"
Due to his talent 'Sword Manipulation'....
And finally—
God Tier.
The peak.
The absolute.
The kind of power that did not simply break limits—
It erased them.
Abilities that defied logic.
Skills that ignored the natural laws of the world.
The kind of Talent that could turn a single individual…
Into a calamity.
And in this entire world—
There were only four known individuals…
Who possessed such power.
And these individuals are restricted from freely using their
talents as they please.
And one of them was the Founder of the Garcia's Kingdom...
Lucius was one of them.
Teleportation.
A power that allowed him to move through space itself—
A broken ability…
Yet one that demanded precision and control.
And—
Law of One.
A Talent whose true depth he had yet to fully understand.
The ability to combine… to unify…
To transcend limitations.
Even now—
It remained an unknown variable.
Something dangerous.
Something unpredictable.
And yet—
Despite possessing power that stood at the very top of existence…
Lucius's current reality was far from overwhelming.
His body—weak.
His stats—low.
His experience—minimal.
A contradiction.
Absolute potential…
Trapped inside a fragile vessel.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Because he understood something simple—
Growth.
As long as he continued to grow…
This gap—
Would disappear.
His eyes lifted once more—
Locking onto the approaching Skarn Tyrant.
His grip tightened around the sword.
"Come."
....