As the Shadowy Figure turned away to look out the window, the Head Minister remained bowed, a sinister glint in his eyes.
He didn't tell his Master everything.
'Thrown in the jungle? No, that would have been too merciful,' the Minister thought, suppressing a wicked smile.
He remembered the specific orders he had given to the Blackguard Soldiers before they left with the unconscious boy.
'I told them clearly...'
The memory played in his mind:
"Don't just drop him off. Make sure he never crawls back"
"Break his legs. Beat him until his spirit shatters"
"Torture him just enough so that when he wakes up—if he wakes up—the pain will be the only thing he knows before the beasts eat him alive"
The Minister straightened up, smoothing his robes.
'We didn't just exile him. We fed him to hell on a silver platter"
"The mistake has been corrected, My Lord," the Minister said aloud, his voice smooth as silk
"The line of succession is pure once more"
The Shadowy Figure nodded, turning off the candle.
"Good. Now leave me"
The room plunged into darkness, hiding the sins of a father who discarded his son, and the servants who ensured his suffering.
Here is the scene of the Night Horror, proving Lysander's decision to hide was the only reason he is still alive.
[THE SILENCE OF THE GRAVE]
Lysander sat on the cold stone floor, cleaning the green blood of the Spider Queen off his armor. He felt strong. Level 30. Stats near 80. He felt like the King of the Jungle.
"I could have taken the Tower," he mused, spinning a dagger in his hand. "Maybe I was too cautious. With Erebos fully charged, I might be unstoppable."
Shhh...
Suddenly, the jungle stopped breathing.
The chirping of the insects died. The wind stopped blowing. The distant howls of wolves were cut off mid-sound.
The entire Abyssal Wilds fell into a silence so heavy it felt like the air had turned into lead.
Lysander froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood up—not because of the cold, but because of a primal instinct he hadn't felt since he was Level 1.
[DEMON GOD'S AURA]
[Reaction: Trembling]
[Your Aura has voluntarily collapsed to hide your presence]
"My Aura... hid itself?" Lysander whispered, his eyes widening. "What the hell is out there?"
Ding!
The System window appeared. It wasn't blue. It wasn't red. It was Black.
[CRITICAL ALERT]
[Do not move. do not breathe. do not release mana.]
[ENTITY DETECTED: the lord of the midnight walk]
[The nightmare revealed]
Lysander slowly, agonizingly slowly, crawled to the edge of the cave entrance. He activated his new passive skill.
[Skill Activated: Night Vision]
The world turned into shades of neon green and purple. He looked out into the clearing where the Spider Queen's tree used to be.
And then he saw IT.
Walking through the forest was a creature that defied logic.
It was a humanoid giant, easily 60 meters tall. Its skin was translucent, glowing with a faint, ghostly blue light. Inside its chest, Lysander could see three massive hearts beating slowly—Thump... Thump... Thump.
Its head grazed the clouds. It dragged a massive, rusted chain behind it that carved a canyon into the earth as it walked.
[ANALYSIS FAILED]
[Target: The Spectral Titan]
[Rank: A ]
"Rank A..." Lysander mouthed the words, unable to make a sound. "A Calamity."
Just then, a massive Steel-Horned Rhino (Rank B) charged out of the bushes, terrified and trying to run away from the Giant. The Rhino was huge—the size of a tank.
The Spectral Titan didn't even look down. It simply continued walking.
CRUNCH.
The Titan's massive foot descended. It didn't step on the Rhino; it stepped through it.
The Rank-B monster didn't just die; it liquefied. The sheer pressure of the Titan's gravity field crushed the Rhino into a flat stain of blood and bone on the forest floor.
The Titan didn't pause. It didn't care. To a God, an insect is nothing.
[THE REALIZATION]
Lysander pressed his back against the cave wall, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
He was shaking.
His Level 30 stats? Useless.
His SSS-Class Sword? A toothpick.
If he had been walking to the Tower right now... if he had been on that path... that foot would have crushed him just like the Rhino. No skill, no dodge, no block could have saved him.
"I am an ant," Lysander whispered, sweat dripping down his face despite the cold. "I thought I was strong because I killed some spiders. But in the true dark... I am nothing."
He looked at his trembling hands.
"The System was right. The Abyssal Wilds at night isn't a hunting ground. It's a graveyard."
He hugged his knees, staring into the darkness of his cave, waiting for the footsteps of the Titan to fade away.
"I won't make that mistake again," he vowed, his voice shaky but resolute. "I will stay in this hole until the sun rises. And I will never underestimate this world again."
He didn't sleep that night. He sat with his sword in his hand, listening to the monsters that were far, far stronger than him, ruling the darkness.
The sun finally rose, casting pale shafts of light into the cave. The oppressive heaviness of the night lifted, and the terrified silence of the jungle was replaced by the morning birds.
Lysander hadn't moved.
He sat exactly where he had been all night—back against the cold wall, knees pulled up, his hand white-knuckled around the hilt of Erebos. His eyes were red-rimmed and hollow, staring blankly at the cave entrance.
He slowly loosened his grip on the sword. His fingers were stiff and cramped.
"What... was that?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.
He took a shaky breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. The image of the Spectral Titan crushing the Rhino was burned into his retinas.
"Since I came to this world, I have killed wolves, snakes, and demons. I thought I was strong," Lysander muttered, looking at his trembling hands. "But today... for the first time... I realized what Fear actually is."
He stood up slowly, his armor clicking in the quiet cave. He walked to the entrance and looked out at the bright, deceitfully peaceful jungle.
He slapped his cheeks—once, twice—forcing the terror down.
"It's fine," he said, his voice regaining its steel. "I didn't die. That is what matters."
He narrowed his eyes, the determination returning to his gaze.
"A man learns from his mistakes. I was arrogant, and I got lucky."
He sheathed Erebos with a sharp click.
"But if I make this mistake again... if I underestimate this world again... then that isn't a mistake. That is just stupidity."
"I won't be stupid twice."
Lysander stood at the entrance of the cave, stretching his stiff muscles. He waited.
Usually, at this exact time every morning, the blue screen would pop up with a list of basic physical exercises—push-ups, sit-ups, squats—to grant him a small stat boost
He waited one minute. Then two.
Nothing happened.
"System," Lysander asked, frowning slightly. "Where is the Daily Quest? Did you glitch? I haven't received my morning training schedule."
Whirrr...
The System window materialized, but there was no quest list. Instead, a simple notification box appeared.
[There is no glitch, Master. The Daily Quest protocol has been Terminated]
Lysander raised an eyebrow. "Terminated? Why?"
[The Daily Quests were a 'Stabilization Mechanism' designed for a novice vessel. Your body was originally too weak to handle the mana of the Demon God. The small, repetitive tasks were only there to help your muscles adapt to the sudden influx of power]
[However,Master your Status is now Level 30]
[Your Attributes have surpassed the human limit (70+). Your body has fully adapted to the System]
[Doing basic exercises will no longer strengthen you. You have reached the Physiological Limit of what simple training can provide]
"From this point forward, the only way to grow is through Combat and Conquest."
Lysander stared at the message, letting the words sink in. He looked at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists. The power in his veins felt stable, permanent. He wasn't a vessel trying to hold water anymore; he was the ocean.
"I see," Lysander nodded slowly, a faint smirk returning to his face. "So the training wheels are off."
He adjusted his armor, looking toward the jungle.
"I don't need to be spoon-fed rewards for doing sit-ups anymore. If I want power, I have to go out there and take it with my sword."
"Fair enough."
Lysander looked away from the System window and turned his gaze toward the Abandoned Tower. In the morning light, it looked ancient and silent, but he knew better now.
"The tutorial is over," he muttered, rubbing his chin. "And last night proved that I am not invincible."
He checked his balance: 24,651 SP.
It was a fortune. A king's ransom in System Points.
"There is no point in dying with a full wallet,"
Lysander said, his expression serious. "I don't know what is waiting inside that Tower. It could be a maze, a trap, or a nest of monsters stronger than the Spider Queen."
He needed an insurance policy. He needed a Trump Card.
"System," he commanded. "Open Shop."
The holographic menu expanded.
"Filter results. Exclude weapons and armor. Show me Artifacts and Emergency Consumables. Price range: 5,000 to 10,000 SP"
Whirrr...
The list refreshed. The cheap potions and basic scrolls vanished. In their place, three golden items appeared, spinning slowly in the hologram. These were high-tier items, things that could change the fate of a battle instantly.
Lysander's eyes scanned the descriptions.
[Guardian's Amulet]: Creates a barrier that blocks one fatal attack. (Single Use).
[Scroll of Mass Teleportation]: Instantly transports the user 5km away.
[The Void-Walker's Cloak]: Grants total invisibility for 5 minutes
His eyes locked onto one of them. It was expensive. It was dangerous. But if he got trapped in a room with a Boss he couldn't beat... this item was the only thing that would save him.
"This is it," Lysander whispered, a determined glint in his eyes.
He raised his hand, his finger hovering over the [Purchase] button.
"Better to be broke and alive, than rich and dead."