Chapter 35 - Chapter 35: Broken Soul

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Returning once again to the familiar plains on the northern outskirts of Tianhai City, Lucas resumed his mission—this time with cold resolve.

One slime.

Two.

Three.

Then five.

Ten.

Twenty.

The slimes fell like autumn leaves in a storm. Lucas struck with precision and speed, executing a full-blown massacre against the harmless creatures. His movements were mechanical, calculated—his eyes locked not on the monsters, but on the glowing notifications appearing in his vision.

> You have gained 7 soul energy points.

You have gained 1 soul energy point.

You have gained 4 soul energy points.

The points collected varied with each kill—sometimes just a single digit, sometimes more—but all were feeding into the Pale Blade's unique ability: Soul Shatter.

After sweeping the area clean of slimes, Lucas checked his personal status panel. In the equipment section, the Pale Blade shimmered with a soft green glow. He tapped on it.

> Stored Soul Energy: 127

"Perfect," Lucas murmured. "Now let's see what this skill can really do."

He turned his attention to a lone slime in the distance. Raising the dagger, he began to strategize.

"If using Soul Shatter on this target deals exactly 127 damage, then the skill clearly scales only with the number of stored soul energy points. But…"

His eyes gleamed as he locked a Weakness Mark on the slime.

"If it hits for over 3800, that means it benefits from my Talent skills—God-killing Blade and Delusion-breaking Eye—and possibly even critical hit bonuses."

The outcome would determine everything.

He leapt forward, eyes narrowed.

"Soul Shatter!"

Lucas slashed the marked point with full force, the Pale Blade emitting a faint pulse as the soul energy was unleashed.

Splat!

A tiny, disappointing number floated above the slime:

> 127

"…Seriously?" Lucas blinked.

The slime popped like a balloon, and Lucas just stood there. Frozen.

There was no critical hit.

No bonus damage from his awakened talents.

No interaction with Weakness Mark.

Just 127 points of real damage—exactly equal to the stored soul energy.

"...Ouch." Lucas sighed, the corners of his mouth twitching.

He'd just experienced the weakest single hit of his career.

So that was the truth. Soul Shatter was completely isolated from all his passive boosts. No stacking. No amplification.

"It doesn't even take critical hits…" he muttered. "It's like it belongs to a different game system."

He wanted to feel disappointed, but… was it really that bad?

The skill did have an overwhelming trait—it ignored everything: defense, shields, damage reduction, even invincibility.

That kind of purity had its own power.

"Fine," Lucas sighed, dragging his feet back toward the road. "It's not broken, just… honest."

It was still a weapon of potential. With enough soul energy stockpiled, the damage could be tremendous. He'd just need patience. A lot of patience.

---

Just as he was about to leave, a voice called out behind him:

"What are you doing out here?"

Lucas turned sharply.

Standing behind him in a snow-white mage robe was Alexis Lane, his former classmate—and, in high school, his dream girl.

It had been almost a month since he'd last seen her. She looked different now—stronger, more radiant. A faint magical aura surrounded her, and the staff in her hands pulsed with arcane energy.

She looked like a proper battle mage.

Even her presence had changed. More mature. A little colder. Sharper.

The battlefield had carved confidence into her.

She had, unfortunately, also arrived just in time to see his weakest attack ever.

She frowned.

"Lucas… that damage. Only a hundred-something? Against a Level 1 slime?"

Lucas stiffened.

"…Ugh."

Of all people to witness that attack, why her?

He scratched his head awkwardly, searching for words. There was no easy way to explain a 127-damage hit when you looked like you were fully geared.

"I mean…" he started, then gave up. "It's complicated."

He tried to laugh it off, but it only made it worse.

"How's your level?" Alexis asked, changing the subject. "What level are you at now?"

Lucas took the opportunity to shift focus. "Twenty."

Alexis raised a brow. "Already?"

He nodded. "After helping Mason hit Level 15, I trained solo."

There was a brief pause.

Alexis processed that information, then gave a small nod. "Impressive. I'm at Level 18. Not bad, right? The assessment's tomorrow."

With that, she turned to leave.

No goodbyes. Just… gone.

Lucas blinked after her.

"Wait. What just happened? Was she showing off?"

He tilted his head, trying to make sense of it.

"But I literally just said I'm Level 20. That's higher."

He shook his head, baffled. Maybe she hadn't heard him properly? Or maybe the 127-damage hit had thrown her off so hard she'd assumed he was falling behind.

"Man… that's just cruel," he muttered.

She'd probably seen the weird equipment on him, too. Most of it didn't match visually, and the Pale Blade certainly didn't look impressive.

"All this judgment over appearances…"

He sighed, brushing it off. "Whatever. I don't have time to care."

He had bigger concerns.

The exam was tomorrow, and he doubted he'd reach Level 21 in time.

So instead, he'd put all his energy into upgrading the Pale Blade.

If it had just evolved from Ordinary to Excellent, the next step was obvious.

He'd need green-grade daggers to continue feeding the weapon. Whiteboard materials wouldn't work anymore.

Lucas checked his balance.

"Only 30,000 credits left… I've been burning cash like crazy."

But he didn't hesitate.

"Let's go buy one."

---

Taking Bus 36, Lucas rode into the heart of Tianhai City, then walked to the familiar Blacksmith store run by Mason's family.

As he entered, Mason's dad looked up and recognized him immediately.

"Back again?" he asked, squinting. "What now—another whiteboard dagger?"

Lucas smiled politely. "Actually, I need the cheapest green-grade dagger you have."

The blacksmith scratched his head, looking confused. "You've bought five whiteboard daggers from me already. Plus that expensive blue one. Now green? What are you doing with all these? Practicing knife throwing or something?"

Lucas laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. My Talent skill lets me use daggers as projectiles. It scales with quality, so… I'm just testing builds."

The excuse was total nonsense—but plausible enough in a world where Talent skills could be anything from summoning bears to exploding birds.

Mason's dad shrugged. "Fair enough. These Talent skills are getting stranger by the year."

He rummaged around and produced a cheap, green-grade dagger.

"3,000 credits," he said. "Want it wrapped?"

Lucas handed over the money with a grateful nod.

Mason's dad hesitated. "You sure you don't want a discount? You've been helping my boy level up. I appreciate it."

Lucas shook his head.

"Favors are favors. Business is business."

---

As Lucas left the shop, dagger in hand, his mind was already spinning with next steps.

He had to evolve the Pale Blade further.

But more than that—he had to keep it a secret.

If word got out that he had a weapon with infinite growth potential…

He'd be hunted. Targeted. Tracked. Maybe even killed.

So from now on, he'd avoid buying too many daggers from the same place. Spread it out. Keep low. Keep quiet.

One step at a time.

The real game was just beginning.

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