The jungle was unnervingly quiet as Lysander crouched on a thick branch, staring at the path ahead. The grey stone of the Abandoned Tower was closer now, looming over the trees like a tombstone.
But before he could move, a sharp pain twisted in his stomach.
"Damn it," Lysander hissed, clutching his abdomen. "I haven't had real food in twenty-four hours."
He had been running on adrenaline and the stolen vitality of monsters, but his stomach remained empty. The Soul Drinker ability of his sword refueled his muscles and mana, but it did nothing for the physical sensation of hunger.
"System," he muttered. "Shop."
He spent 10 SP without hesitation. A blue Velkora Fruit appeared in his hand. He bit into it savagely. The juice was cold and tasted like minty water. It slid down his throat and dissolved instantly into pure mana.
Lysander stared at the remaining core of the fruit, frustration bubbling in his chest.
"It's useless," he spat, throwing the core away. "It's like eating air. It stops the shaking, but the hunger... the hunger is still there."
He looked at the dead Python he had left miles back. He remembered the explanation: The sword eats the essence. You get the power; the meat turns to dust.
"I am a King who is starving to death," he whispered, a dark irony in his voice.
Skitter… Skitter…
His ear twitched. The sound wasn't the wind. It was the sound of a thousand tiny legs scratching against bark.
He looked up. The canopy above him wasn't green anymore. It was white.
Thick, sticky webs draped over the trees like a funeral shroud. And within those webs, hundreds of red eyes were opening, one by one.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
[Location: The Weaving Grounds]
[Enemy Detected: Venom-Spine Spiders] (Rank D)
[Estimated Count: 150+]
Lysander stood up slowly on the branch. The spiders were everywhere—crawling on the trunk, hanging from threads, surrounding him in a sphere of clicking mandibles and dripping poison.
A normal man would scream. Lysander? He smiled. It was a cold, terrifying smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"One hundred and fifty..." he counted, his tongue running over his dry lips. "That's not a threat. That's a buffet."
He looked at his sword. Erebos was vibrating, sensing the ocean of life force surrounding them.
"But killing them one by one will take too long," Lysander analyzed, his Intelligence (52) working rapidly. "I need to clear the trash efficiently. I have 1,141 SP."
"System! Open Shop. Skills. Rank D. Area of Effect."
The window flashed.
[Fireball (Rank D): Explosive damage] (Too loud, attracts unwanted attention).
[Earth Tremor (Rank D): Stuns enemies](Useless in trees).
[Dark Moon Spin (Rank D): A rotational slash that utilizes centrifugal force to create a vacuum of blades]
Lysander's eyes locked on the third option.
[Skill Selected: Dark Moon Spin]
[Rank: D]
[Cost: 450 SP]
[Description: The user spins with high velocity, coating their weapon in dark mana. Creates a 3-meter radius 'Kill Zone'. perfect for being surrounded]
"Purchase," Lysander commanded.
[-450 SP Deducted]
[Skill Learned: Dark Moon Spin]
Knowledge flooded his brain. He knew exactly how to move his feet, how to torque his hips, and how to channel the mana.
He drew Erebos. The red eye on the blade snapped open, glowing brighter than ever.
"Alright, you ugly bastards," Lysander whispered, lowering his stance. "Lunch is served."
SCREEE!
The first wave of ten spiders lunged. They were the size of wolves, their fangs dripping with necrotic green venom.
"Dark Moon Spin!"
Lysander didn't dodge. He planted his feet and spun.
WHOOOSH-CRUNCH!
A vortex of black and red energy exploded outward. The heavy greatsword moved so fast it became a blurry disc of death. The ten spiders didn't even touch him. They were shredded in mid-air, their bodies torn apart by the centrifugal force of the blade.
Green blood rained down like a monsoon.
[+120 SP]
[+120 SP]
[+120 SP]
"Come on!" Lysander laughed, the sound echoing through the webs. "Is that all you have?"
The rest of the hive swarmed. They poured down the tree trunk like a river of nightmares.
Lysander moved. He was a dancer of death.
"Shadow Flash."
ZAP.
He teleported to a higher branch, right into the middle of a cluster of twenty spiders. Before they could react, he unleashed Blood Wave, slicing a crescent path through their ranks.
HISS!
A spider managed to land on his back. Its fangs sank into the leather of his shoulder, piercing the skin.
[POISON DETECTED]
[Health: -5%]
Lysander didn't flinch. He reached back, grabbed the spider by its head, and ripped it off, throwing it to the ground.
"You think that hurts?" he roared, swinging his sword into another group.
SQUELCH.
As the blade cleaved through three spiders at once, the Passive: Soul Drinker activated.
Lysander gasped as a rush of cool, electric energy shot up his arm. It felt like ice water being poured over a burn.
The poison in his veins? Neutralized
The puncture wound on his shoulder? Sealed instantly.
His fatigue? Erased.
"Ahhh..." Lysander moaned in ecstasy, his eyes rolling back for a split second. "It feeds me. It heals me!"
He looked at the remaining hoard with glowing purple eyes. He didn't look like a human anymore. He looked like a demon wearing human skin.
"I can do this all day!"
The battle raged for an hour.
Lysander didn't stop. He didn't slow down.
Every time he took damage—a scratch, a bite, a glob of acid—he just killed another spider, and his health bar snapped back to 100%.
He was laughing now, a manic, breathless sound.
"Dark Moon Spin!"
SPLAT. Five heads rolled.
"Shadow Flash!"
ZAP. He appeared behind a spider and crushed its skull with his boot.
"Blood Wave!"
SLASH. A line of destruction cleared the branch.
His armor was coated in so much green slime that the black metal was invisible. He was a machine of slaughter. The Madness had taken over. He wasn't fighting for survival anymore; he was fighting for the sheer pleasure of dominance.
He grabbed the last spider—the largest of the group—by its leg. It screeched, trying to escape.
"Where are you going?" Lysander whispered, bringing his face close to the monster. "We're just getting started."
He impaled it on Erebos, watching the light fade from its eyes as the sword drank the last drop of its essence.
Silence returned to the Weaving Grounds.
But it wasn't the silence of peace. It was the silence of a graveyard.
Broken spider limbs, shattered carapaces, and rivers of green blood covered the forest floor and the lower branches.
Lysander stood in the center of the carnage, his chest heaving—not from exhaustion, but from the high of the power coursing through him.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The System notifications had been suppressed during combat. Now, they exploded in his vision like fireworks.
[MASSACRE COMPLETE]
[Enemies Defeated: 158 Venom-Spine Spiders] (Rank D)
[Experience Gained: CATASTROPHIC]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
...
[LEVEL UP!]
A golden pillar of light erupted from his body, blowing away the surrounding webs. His muscles tore and rebuilt themselves instantly, denser and stronger. His mana core expanded, throbbing with power.
[STATUS UPDATE]
[Current Level: 25]
[REWARDS]
[System Points: +18,960 SP]
[Current Balance: 19,651 SP]
Lysander's eyes widened as he saw the SP count. "Nineteen thousand..." he breathed. "I'm rich."
[ATTRIBUTE GROWTH]
[Reaching Level 25 is a milestone. Your body has transcended the limits of a 'Novice'.]
[Strength: 58 -> 75]
[Agility: 56 -> 72]
[Intelligence: 52 -> 60]
[Vitality: 50 -> 68]
[Mana: 350 -> 600]
Lysander clenched his fist. The air popped around his hand from the sheer pressure. He felt... heavy. Not with weight, but with presence.
He looked at the Status Window.
"Level 25," he said, his voice deeper, more resonant. "Attributes over 70. I could crush that Python with one hand now."
He looked toward the Abandoned Tower. The distance that seemed far before now felt like a short walk.
He wiped the green blood from his face, his expression turning serious again.
Lysander sheathed his sword, ready to walk away. But the jungle had other plans.
BOOOM.
The massive ancient tree he was standing on shuddered violently. The branches cracked. Above him, the thick canopy of white webs tore open.
From the darkness above, a nightmare descended.
[BOSS DETECTED]
[Target: Brood-Mother Arachne
[Rank: C (Field Boss)]
[Size: 10 Meters tall]
The exoskeleton her body was encased in a shell of pale, calcified armor, white as bleached human bones. It wasn't smooth; the surface was covered in jagged spikes and ancient scars from previous battles. The moonlight reflected off her carapace, making her look like a moving, ghostly statue carved from a graveyard.the Limbs
She stood on eight colossal legs, each as thick as a tree trunk. The tips weren't feet; they were obsidian-black blades, serrated like saws. Every time she took a step, the razor-sharp tips pierced deep into the hardwood of the ancient tree, leaking sap like blood. The joints of her legs were covered in coarse, wire-like black hair that bristled with static energy.the abdomen
her massive abdomen was a translucent, pulsating sac. Through the stretched skin, Lysander could see the neon-green acid churning inside like boiling magma. It hummed with a low, sickening vibration. It wasn't just poison; it was a pressurized biological bomb waiting to explode.the face of Terror but the most terrifying part was her face.eighteen crimson eyes were arranged in a chaotic cluster across her forehead. They didn't blink. They glowed with a malevolent, intelligent red light, moving independently to lock onto Lysander from every angle. Below the eyes, her mandibles clicked together—wet, black pincers dripping with a thick, corrosive saliva that hissed when it hit the ground.she was beautiful in the most disgusting way possible.A perfect, ancient killing machine.
SCREEEEEEEEECH!
The scream was so loud it shattered the nearby smaller branches. The soundwave hit Lysander like a physical punch.
[Master, your biological status is unstable]
[Vitality & Mana Restoration: 60%
Completem]
[Advisory: You are mentally exhausted and hungry. If you retreat and hide for 10 minutes, Erebos can restore you to 100%]
Lysander looked up at the massive monster. He saw its mandibles clicking, dripping with acid that dissolved the wood beneath it.
"Retreat?" Lysander spat, his face twisting into an expression of pure, unfiltered irritation.
He rubbed his empty stomach. His head was pounding from the fatigue of killing 150 spiders. He was covered in slime. He was hungry. And now, this giant bug wanted to drag this out?
"I don't have ten minutes," Lysander growled, his eyes burning with a mixture of exhaustion and rage. "I just want to find a place to sleep!"