Dealing with the centipedes wasn't a problem. Their massive bodies and slower speeds made it easy for Lucius to go around them, ending them one by one while avoiding their attacks.
[You have leveled up!]
Lucius jumped to the side, dodging a scythe that came for him from above. He panted, looking up at the last two of the creatures standing above him.
Their faces resembled human skulls, long mandibles protruded out of the hollow mouths.
Crieee!
The two centipedes came towards him like snakes, circling him.
He held the shield tightly, his arm was shaking, but he refused to let the shield go.
The ground trembled ever so slightly, not too much, but enough. The centipedes moved in, closing the distance from both sides.
Lucius didn't wait in the middle for them to pounce on him at once, and he didn't run away either. Instead, he charged towards one of them, leaving the other behind him.
The creature swung frantically in his direction, raising wind that blew his hair the more he dodged.
A normal human wouldn't even be able to see these attacks, but he could. He wasn't human anymore.
The large body of the undead creature circled around him and in that moment he leapt up to get out of range.
Swoosh!
Lucius gasped, feeling a strong wind coming toward him. He turned at the last second, seeing a long scythe coming for his head.
He grunted, raising his shield to block the incoming attack.
Crack! Bang!
Lucius crashed hard into the ground, his back ached from being hit multiple times.
He looked forward, smiling.
The part where he jumped past, the scythe went down to pierce the second centipede's spine.
But he wouldn't agree that it was luck.
"Come on, one more." He stood up with the support of the sword, dropping the shield.
The hand he used to hold the shield trembled. His muscles ached, taking so many hits.
The shield itself was nearly completely caved in from all the attacks. It was a miracle that it was still whole after all that.
He grasped the sword after that, holding it with both hands this time. The last centipede climbed over the dead one's body, creeping towards him with great speed.
He shot forward, leaving dust behind him. The creature swirled, trying to crash into him with its body.
Lucius leapt high into the air, climbing atop its body. He raised his sword, targeting the crack in its spine.
Two scythes came from his sides, aiming to tear him apart. Lucius leapt towards the first one, striking it away with the sword.
Shah!
"Gah!" Lucius shouted as he felt the scythe pierce into his waist side and he sliced the creature's arm.
He pushed the scythe out of himself and he shot towards the face. He clenched his fists, punching the face of the creature.
Bang!
The creature was pushed back a bit. Its skull face was cracked and one of its mandibles was broken.
Criee—!
The shriek of the creature halted as a flash passed its eyes. There was a sword sticking into its skull.
From the other side, Lucius was holding his waist, looking at the creature with eyes filled with malice.
The creature fell down finally, landing on the ground with a loud thud.
Lucius gritted his teeth, falling on his arms. He looked around him, all twelve of the creatures here were dead.
The cave too was nearly destroyed, a lot of spikes that seemed to fall from the ceiling and constant cracks in the ground, it was one hell of a battle.
[You have leveled up!]
[Congrats, you have leveled up to level 15. You have unlocked two new skills, your mana levels have increased drastically.]
[Physique stat greater than 3. Conditions fulfilled.]
[You're going through an advancement]
As the message showed in front of Lucius, he felt a soothing energy permeate his body, calming him down. Then...
"ARGHHHH!" Lucius shouted at the top of his lungs as his skin burned, steam coming out of his body.
His entire body went red and he felt much more energy moving around him than before.
He endured the next three minutes of agony, rolling on the ground. Added to the gruesome wound he received on his waist, it was torture.
After the few minutes, Lucius gasped for air as the pain subsided. His eyes were wide open as he stared at the ceiling of the cave.
'Do all heroes go through this?' He wondered, trying to stand up.
He felt his clothes sticking to him and he removed the shirt, only to find out that his skin... was peeling.
"Am I shedding skin?" He frowned, peeling the surface one off of himself.
[You have advanced into a D class human. Permanent changes to your body and mana have been made.]
~"Are you okay?"
The goddess' worried voice resounded in his head.
Lucius kept quiet, his gaze was on the side of his abdomen where he was stabbed.
There was no wound... or scar.
It was like nothing happened to him.
"I was stabbed through in my side." He mumbled.
~"When you advance, your mana adapts to your body and gets rid of any imperfections. Including scars and wounds."
Lucius nodded, understanding what was going on now. The surface skin, he shed it to have brand new skin. Also, the excess fat in his body was liberated, giving him more of an aesthetic look.
[SYSTEM SCREEN]
Name: Lucius Denero
Title(s): The Villain, Crazy Devil
Race: ???
Level: 15
Brand: Null
Alignment: [Undefined]
Mana: 680/680
Stats—
Strength: 14
Agility: 17
Endurance: 21
Vitality/Physique: 4
Intelligence: 12
Willpower: 25
Luck: -1
Free points: 6
{Attributes} {Sin gauge} {Skills} {Inventory}
{Quests}
"Wow." Lucius mumbled, seeing the amount of mana he felt inside his body.
He looked at his arms, feeling like he had a great amount of strength buried inside him.
Plus, with this power he would be able to use his powerful skill.
The reason why he didn't use it at all was because mana was what gave him strength.
'The time I exhausted my mana after using my skill once in the alley. I jumped down from the building and my legs hurt.'
'I feel extremely weak after I deplete whatever mana I have, it's nauseating too.' He concluded.
But now with that taken care of, he could use his abyssal flames more times than one now.
Lucius gazed at his status screen to see a red dot on where it said, and he tapped it.