Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the wooden cabin, hitting Lysander's face. He groaned slightly, his mind feeling heavy, as if he had slept for a century.
He blinked, his vision clearing. The first thing he saw was a blue holographic loading bar hovering right in front of his eyes.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: 99%...]
Lysander rubbed his temples, sitting up on his mat.
"System? What is this?"
Ding!
The bar filled instantly.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: 100% COMPLETE]
[VERSION 2.0 SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED]
"Update?" Lysander frowned, his voice rough with sleep. "Since when do you update?"
[Master The update was triggered automatically when the User broke the Level 30 Limiter and absorbed the Soul of a Rank-B Boss. The process occurred while the User was in a comatose sleep state to prevent neural overload]
Lysander stretched his neck, feeling a satisfying crack. He felt different. His mana wasn't just flowing; it was roaring like a river. His body felt lighter, yet infinitely more dangerous.
"I see," Lysander muttered. "So the Boss fight pushed me into a new realm"
He stood up, looking at his hands.
"Show me. Status Open"
Whirrr... Clank.
A new, sleeker interface appeared. It was no longer just blue; it was black with crimson accents, radiating an ominous power.
[UPDATED STATUS WINDOW]
[Name: Lysander]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Successor of the Demon God]
[Potential: SSS]
[Current Grade: Rank B]
[Level: 40]
[ATTRIBUTES]
(Stats have skyrocketed due to Rank-B Evolution and Boss Absorption)
[Strength: 450]
[Agility: 480]
[Intelligence: 420]
[Vitality: 500]
[Mana: 10,000]
[Active Skills]
[Shadow Flash] \rightarrow [Void Blink (Lvl 3)] (Level Up!)
[Effect: Instantly teleport up to 50 meters into any shadow. Can now chain up to 3 blinks in rapid succession without cooldown]
[New Feature: Phase Shift]
(User becomes intangible for 0.5 seconds after blinking)
[Blood Calamity (Lvl 3)] (Level Up!)
[Effect: Releases a massive, pressurized tsunami of solidified blood mana. Can cut through steel and rock]
[Range: Increased to Wide Area]
[Eclipse Whirlwind (Lvl 2)] (Level Up!)
[Effect: A 360-degree rotational slash that creates a vacuum, pulling enemies toward the blade before slicing them]
[Damage: +200% against multiple targets]
[Passive Skills]
[Demon God's Aura] [Monarch's Presence (Passive)] (Updated!)
[Effect: Rank-C and below enemies are paralyzed by fear instantly. Rank-B enemies suffer a -30% Stat Reduction due to terror]
[Active Toggle: Can focus the aura on a single target to induce mental collapse]
[Pain Nullification (High)] (Updated!)
[Effect: The user no longer feels pain from physical damage. Allows the user to fight at 100% efficiency even with broken bones or missing limbs[
[Abyssal Sight (Max)]
[Effect: Perfect visibility in total darkness. Can now see Heat Signatures and Mana Flow through obstacles]
[EQUIPMENT]
[Erebos: The Shadow Fang] (Rank-A)
[Ability: Soul Devourer] (Absorbs enemy stats upon kill).
[New Ability: Darkness Wave] (Ranged Slash).
[Twin-Star Mana Revolvers](Model: Eclipse)
Lysander stared at the numbers.
"Rank B..." he whispered. "And Level 40."
He clenched his fist, feeling the raw power surging through his veins.
Lysander stared at the numbers glowing in the air.
"Rank B..." he whispered, clenching his fist.
The air inside the cabin seemed to vibrate around him. He could feel the difference instantly. Before, his mana was like a garden hose; now, it was a fire hose. His muscles felt dense, like compressed steel.
"I'm not invincible yet," Lysander analyzed calmly, his red eyes narrowing behind the mask. "Professor Isabella is Rank-A. If I fight her head-on right now, I might still lose. The gap between B and A is massive"
He lowered his hand, the holographic window dissolving into particles of light.
"But..."
A cold, terrifying smirk appeared behind his mask.
"Yesterday, I had to risk my life to kill that Behemoth. I had to use every trick I had just to survive"
He looked at Erebos, which was leaning against the wall.
"Today? I am the monster"
He thought about the threats looming over him. He thought about the Valerius Knights. He thought about the Academy Elites.
"I don't need to hide in the shadows anymore. If Cedric sends his family's knights... if the Academy sends their enforcers..."
He clenched his fist, and the air pressure in the room dropped heavily.
"I don't need to run"
He turned toward the door.
"I can crush them"
"System, good work"
Lysander swiped his hand through the air, dismissing the holographic status window. The blue particles faded, returning the room to the dim morning light.
"Time to get to work," Lysander muttered.
He placed his hands on the mat, preparing to sit up.
But he couldn't move.
There was a heavy weight pressing down on his chest. A warm, soft, fragrant weight.
Lysander looked down.
During the night, Seraphina had migrated from her corner. She had rolled across the floor and wrapped herself around him like a koala. Her legs were tangled with his, her arms were locked around his neck, and her head was resting on his shoulder.
"Seraphina," Lysander grunted, trying to shift his body. "Wake up"
He tried to lift his upper body.
Squish.
It was a tactical error.
As he lifted his head, Seraphina shifted in her sleep. She slid upward, and gravity did the rest. Her massive, soft chest—only covered by the thin wool tunic—landed directly on Lysander's face.
"Mmph?!"
Lysander's vision went dark. He wasn't seeing the ceiling anymore; he was buried in a suffocating wall of softness.
"Get... off..." Lysander's voice was muffled, his robotic tone lost in the fabric and flesh.
He tried to push her away gently, tapping her shoulder.
"Seraphina! Move!"
But Seraphina didn't wake up. In her dream, she was hugging a giant, warm teddy bear that smelled like safety and iron.
"Mmm..." Seraphina purred, a sweet, sleepy smile spreading across her lips. "Zero..."
Instead of letting go, she tightened her grip.
"Don't go..." she mumbled possessively. "Mine..."
She squeezed her arms around his head, pulling him deeper into her cleavage. She nuzzled her cheek against the top of his head, effectively trapping the dreaded "Demon God Successor" in a prison of pure unparalleled softness.
Lysander stiffened. His Pain Nullification skill was useless here. His Abyssal Sight couldn't help him see through this.
"System," Lysander thought frantically. "Is there a skill to escape this?"
System: [No. Enjoy.]
CREAAAK.
The wooden door of the cabin swung open.
"Lord Zero!" Elara's cheerful voice rang out.
"I brought you fresh water and—"
Elara froze in the doorway.
The wooden bucket in her hand didn't drop, but the water inside rippled violently from the sudden shaking of her hand.
Her golden slit-pupils contracted into needle-thin lines. Her ears flattened against her skull. Her tail puffed up to three times its normal size.
She saw it all.
She saw her Lord Zero lying on the mat. And she saw the human girl, Seraphina, straddling him, suffocating him with her "assets," and murmuring his name with a blissful, lewd expression.
"You..." Elara hissed, a low growl starting in her throat.
Lysander managed to turn his head to the side, finally gasping for air.
"Elara," Lysander said, his voice strained.
"It's not what it looks like"
"YOU SHAMELESS COW!"
Elara didn't hear him. She marched into the room, her claws extending instinctively.
"Get off him!" Elara shrieked, her voice filled with pure, unadulterated jealousy. "How dare you?! He saved your life, and this is how you repay him? By trying to suffocate him with your... your fat chest?!"
She stomped over to them.
"You are heavy! You will crush him! Do you have no shame, human?"
Seraphina stirred, finally waking up due to the shouting. She blinked, looking down at Lysander, then up at the furious Cat-Kin woman looming over her.
"Huh?" Seraphina rubbed her eyes innocently, still clinging to Lysander. "Elara? Why are you screaming? We were just sleeping..."
"SLEEPING?!" Elara looked ready to explode. "You are practically eating his face! Get up! Now!"
Elara grabbed the back of Seraphina's tunic and yanked her off Lysander with surprising strength.
"Eek!" Seraphina yelped as she was rolled onto the floor.
Lysander sat up quickly, fixing his mask and dusting off his hoodie, trying to regain his dignity.
"Enough," Lysander commanded, his aura flaring slightly to calm the room.
Elara pointed a shaking finger at Seraphina, her face red with anger.
"Lord Zero, this... this woman is dangerous! She has no morals! You cannot sleep in the same room as her anymore! I will guard you tonight! Me!"
Seraphina sat up, fixing her messy hair. She looked at Elara, then at Lysander. A small, triumphant smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
'She's jealous,' Seraphina realized. 'She saw where I was. She saw how close we were'
Seraphina looked at Elara and tilted her head innocently.
"I can't help it," Seraphina said softly. "I have nightmares. Lord Zero is my only comfort. surely you wouldn't deny me safety, Elara?"
"You..." Elara snarled.
Lysander stood up, walking past both of them toward the door.
"Both of you. Outside. Now"
He didn't look back, but his ears were burning red behind the mask.