~"N—nothing..."
The goddess replied with a tired tone.
[You have gained +3 points to strength.]
[You have absorbed +2 points to endurance]
[You have absorbed +10 points to vitality (physique)]
"Argh!"
After reading the message from the system, all his body began to hurt like hell. His muscles contracted, and he felt his bones shift in some parts of his body.
"ARGHHHH...!"
Lucius squirmed on the ground, gritting his teeth while looking around without moving.
After a minute, Lucius was already drenched with sweat. He stood up, looking at his body.
He raised his shirt to see that he got a bit leaner, now having muscles and abs on his torso.
He let out a breath.
"The physique stat boosts my body structure. How does that work?"
[You have learned the skill, Radiant Concord!]
The whole cave fell silent, and Lucius stared at the screen in front of him. He didn't know if he was hallucinating or if he really absorbed a skill from the knights with his level of luck.
"No way I absorbed it." He spoke, looking at the string of words.
Ding!
[System Message (Original Form)]
[Skill: Radiant Concord]
Skill description:
A divine sword art created by the first knights under the God of Light. Its brilliance emerges when wielders fight together, each blade resonating with the next in perfect harmony. Alone, it is incomplete, but when joined by allies, the style manifests as a radiant shield and sword, capable of turning the tide of any battle. Requires synergy, discipline, and unity.
Lucius frowned. The words didn't sit well with him.
"Synergy and unity? So the knights could be stronger if I had let them, hahaha." He laughed, shaking his head.
The skill was actually an entire fighting style these knights used against him, which was supposed to be stronger when there were multiple of them.
Lucius' smile faded, and his brow creased as he thought about how he was going to use the skill.
'There's no way I'm fighting alongside people in the future. So it would be difficult to use it to its full potential. Fucking bullshit!' He clenched his fists hard.
Just in time, the melodious chime of the system messages resounded in his ears again.
[System Update (Corruption Detected)]
[Notice: Host's intent has altered the skill.]
[Skill has evolved.]
[New Skill: Abyssal Discord (Lv.1)]
The corrupted inversion of the God of Light's sword art. Stripped of its need for unity, it thrives in solitude, feeding on abyssal flames and killing intent. Each strike is a hymn of destruction, severing bonds instead of forging them. Where concord protects, discord annihilates.
The skill was created by a vengeful creature who walked the path to solitude. His name is Lucius ##@$&#
"What the fuck?" Lucius stared at the screen, his red eyes filled with confusion.
'I created a fighting style?' He smiled widely.
Fighting styles were known widely in the world of heroes. As there are ranks for everything, so are there ranks of fighting styles for the heroes.
"A lot of heroes have shared how they took years to create their own style." He shook his head.
The fight with the knights was highly valuable. Not only was he able to get stat points, he learned and corrupted a skill that turned out to be a fighting style.
Lucius grabbed the sword of the knight, looking at the next cave. By their memories, this should be the next cave.
He advanced.
The silence of the cave worsened the feeling of dread that was creeping into his back. For some reason, he felt like someone was watching him.
Perhaps it was just the goddess.
Lucius finally arrived at the next cave, and he wasn't shocked to see a large door that had a sinister aura on it.
The doors were as tall as five metres, having the carvings of a shield with thorns on it.
The goddess' voice trembled in his head, faint yet sharp, like a whisper breaking apart under fear.
~"Lucius… you… you can't continue. You'll die if you go further."
Lucius stopped in front of the door, his crimson eyes narrowing. "Die?" He let out a scoff, adjusting the grip on the knight's sword. "If I was meant to die, I would have died long ago. A very... very long time ago."
~"You don't understand!" The goddess raised her tone, almost desperate now. "That gate leads to the dungeon boss. The trial meant for C-rankers… and you're barely above E. You shouldn't even be here—if I had done my duty, if I had protected you, you wouldn't be walking into this deathtrap!"
Lucius rolled his eyes, his expression flat. "There you go again. I'm not your regret to carry. I really can't wait to beat this place, then you'll have to answer all my questions." He tilted the blade forward, the dark steel catching the glow of the cave torches. "Whether I live or die, it's my choice. And I'll make it out."
The words lingered, cold and resolute.
Then the cave shifted.
A heavy creak echoed as the stone gate before him shuddered, pushing forward with a loud creak, ancient runes glowing faintly across the door's surface. With a deep, groaning rumble, the gate split open, spilling darkness into the already dim cavern.
From within, the dungeon boss stepped forth.
It was a knight—no, a mockery of one. Encased in pitch-black armor etched with crawling veins of crimson light, it carried a long, elegant sword that gleamed like liquid night. The corrupted knight's aura poured out like a suffocating tide, every step sending waves of pressure crashing into Lucius' body. The ground itself quaked, and the air grew thick, the smell of charred steel and burnt ash invading his senses.
'What the fuck is that thing? It's not like the shade knights.' He concluded, bearing the pressured gravity that fell upon him.
The torches hanging along the walls flickered violently, their flames shrinking as though recoiling from the knight's presence. A dread unlike anything Lucius had felt seeped into the chamber, making his skin crawl and his grip tighten instinctively.
Lucius' eyes gleamed as he saw a pile of corpses behind the knight in black. It stared at him with a pair of red eyes, ready for him.
~"It's hopeless…" the goddess whispered, her voice hollow with despair. "That thing was never meant for you to face now. I've doomed you… I've failed you."
Lucius smirked, rolling his shoulders despite the crushing weight pressing down on him. His aura flared, mixing with the abyssal flames still simmering from his corrupted skill.
"Failed me? No. You're just talking bullshit again." He raised the sword of the shade knight, its dark edge gleaming defiantly against the corrupted knight's oppressive glow.
With a grin sharp enough to cut, he muttered, "Your so-called boss will not stop me. No one can."