[Hm… honestly, I don't know.]
Hearing her answer, Lucian's eyes twitched.
He cursed her internally.
Again, no proper answer. But he didn't say anything, didn't ask her more.
He had already tried it many times, and it wasn't worth the effort.
Either she would give him a half-assed answer or just keep her silence.
[Why does it feel like you are thinking something bad about me?] Akasha asked.
'Might be your imagination.'
[Hm…] She clearly wasn't buying it, and neither did Lucian care about that.
Turning away from the conversation in his head, he shifted his attention to the goblins' corpses.
In the dark, it was difficult to look at them—if not for his heightened perception and the flashlight of his smartphone.
"Now…"
He sighed.
The sound echoed faintly in the cramped cave.
He didn't want to do this. Not after remembering that.
When he had devoured the man's corpse before, he had gained a fragment of his memories.
He had felt everything that man had felt.
Pain, sadness, grief.
Every emotion the man felt.
Even though the memory was all foggy, like he had just seen a dream, it still had left an impact on him.
He didn't want to experience that again.
But he had to.
No.
He wanted to.
'Whatever, let's do this.'
He crouched down and placed one hand on each of the nearest goblins' bodies.
This time, instead of saying the word 'Devour' out loud, he invoked the skill directly with his mind.
Rather than relying on the word itself, he focused on the sensation he felt whenever he activated the skill.
His irises darkened, turning void black, and his palms turned to ink black, as if shadows themselves had coated his skin.
Slowly, the goblin's body crumpled, dissolving into nothingness, absorbed by him.
Within 10 seconds, it was gone.
[You have devoured a goblin.]
[You have obtained 1 Attribute Point.]
[You have devoured a goblin.]
[You have obtained 1 Attribute Point.]
He sighed in relief.
'Thankfully… no memories.'
He moved to the other corpses, devouring each and gaining more APs.
When he devoured the last goblin, a new message flashed before him, brightening his view.
[You have devoured a goblin.]
[You have obtained 1 Attribute Point.]
[You have obtained the skill: Minor Poison Resistance.]
"Huh!" Lucian blinked, raising his eyebrows.
This was something new, something he hadn't expected
He didn't know that he could gain their skills.
[You are weak, so it is difficult to control the skill and its absorption.] Akasha spoke, already knowing the question he would ask.
[Sometimes you gain fragments. Sometimes you don't.]
Lucian sighed.
He rubbed his temple, only to feel his wet, bloodied hand against his skin.
"Shit." Cursing under his breath, he quickly pulled his hand away.
He wiped it on the sleeve of his hoodie.
Anyways—
He really didn't understand much about his skill—or rather, his bloodline.
The skill Devour, and his Devourer's Bloodline.
He could tell that his unique skill was merely an extension of his bloodline.
But he did know one thing.
His bloodline was powerful.
But how powerful?
That… he will have to find out in the future.
If his [Devour] skill could absorb anything, then he could gain all types of skills and memories.
Its potential was immense.
Tempting.
Although gaining their memories was alarming—
If it helped him grow stronger, then so be it.
***
After a while, he ventured deeper into the cave, moving carefully as he searched for traps.
It was hard to see through the cave with his Mana Sensitivity since he had to focus a lot, and it strained his mind, forcing him to use it sparingly.
Thankfully, there weren't many traps, and most were crude—simple pitfalls he could detect with Mana Sensitivity, or some goblins hiding in the shadows.
As he slowly absorbed the mana from his surroundings, his fatigue gradually decreased.
Along the way, he encountered more goblins—some hiding, some wandering aimlessly.
Most of them were unarmed.
He killed them swiftly, efficiently—not even letting them make a sound.
He didn't realise it, but he no longer hesitated while killing them or devouring the monsters.
His hands no longer trembled.
His heart didn't race wildly.
His breathing remained steady even as he slit a goblin's throat.
He was adapting… and at a very freakishly fast rate.
If someone else looked at him, then they would even think of him as a skilled killer.
***
"Haaa~"
Lucian exhaled as another goblin dissolved beneath his hands.
It had been roughly around twenty minutes since he had been in the dungeon, exploring, killing, and devouring.
He had long since discarded his hoodie; it was too hot inside the cave.
Dirt clung to his clothes, mixed with sweat and dark goblin blood.
He wasn't sure if the blood was toxic—but thankfully, he had gained the skill: [Minor Poison Resistance].
That offered some assurance.
"Show me my status."
Lucian spoke as he sat on the ground, leaning on the wall while looking at the blue screen panel before him.
Even in the darkness, the screen was bright, but its light didn't spread outward—as if it was just an illusion.
[STATUS]
Name – Lucian Foster
Race – Human
Rank – F
Titles – Loved by ######
Bloodline – Devourer's Bloodline
Affinity – None
Talent – B
[Attributes]
Strength – 11➝22
Agility – 24
Constitution – 11➝20
Intelligence – 20
Will – 15➝18
Perception – 20
Charm – 13
Stamina – 12➝25
Mana – 10➝12
Attribute Points (AP) – 38➝0
[Skills]
Minor Pain Resistance, Basic Analysis, Minor Mana Awareness, Minor Mana Recovery, Minor Poison Resistance
[Unique Skills]
Devour
– – –
He smiled faintly.
He had gained about 38 Attribute Points after killing 38 F-ranked goblins. He used all of them to increase his stats.
The most important was his stamina. If he hadn't increased that, then he might have collapsed long ago due to exhaustion.
"Let's see all of their descriptions."
One by one, he looked through each of the skill descriptions.
He just had to think about the skill, and its information would show up.
[Minor Pain Resistance]
– Reduces perceived pain from minor injuries.
– Prevents pain from disrupting basic actions.
– Does not affect physical damage.
[Basic Analysis]
– Displays registered identity data (name, race, bloodline, rank).
– Shows only information officially recorded by the System.
– Cannot perceive skills, hidden traits, or concealed data.
— — — — —
These were the skill descriptions he had already seen before.
So aside from these…
[Minor Mana Awareness]
– Allows faint perception of ambient mana.
– Detects nearby mana usage.
– Cannot distinguish sources or types.
[Minor Mana Recovery]
– Gradually restores a small amount of mana over time.
– Basic recovery speed improved slightly.
[Minor Poison Resistance]
– Reduces the effect of weak poisons and toxins.
– Slows poison spread within the body.
– Ineffective against magical or potent poisons.
— — — — —
He read each of their descriptions… and had only one thought.
"Why are there so many Minors?" he muttered.
"It feels like you didn't find anything better to name other than adding the word minor for all the skills."
[Fuck off.] Akasha cursed.
"Heh," Lucian smirked, finally getting back at her.
Akasha kept silent, somewhat irritated… but also mildly amused by his reactions.
He was inside a dungeon, killing monsters for the first time, and even then… he was weirdly calm, even cracking jokes.
After reading the skills descriptions one more time—
"What is the time?" Lucian asked, his voice echoing through the cave.
He could've checked the time on his phone, but he wasn't sure if there was some time distortion shit or anything like that inside the dungeon.
[3:36 AM. You should hurry.]
"Okay. I think I've had enough rest."
He stood up, grabbing his crowbar and the bone knife.
One of his crowbars had been bent beyond use, so he had tossed it earlier.
He was talking out loud, trying to dissipate the uncomfortable silence inside the cave.
As he walked deeper inside the dungeon, the number of goblins decreased.
"I have been here for about an hour. When will I come across the dungeon boss?" Lucian grumbled, sighing to himself.
Fifteen minutes later, he reached an opening.
The cave widened abruptly, its ceiling rising higher as the passage opened into something far larger.
Lucian narrowed his eyes, straining to see through, since it was difficult to see in the darkness.
But he couldn't. He was too far away.
'Akasha, do you know what's inside?' Lucian asked, keeping his distance.
[No.] Akasha said instantly.
[Enter inside, or stay here. Your choice.]
Lucian's lips twitched.
'You know, I really want to curse you so badly.'
He clicked his tongue, annoyed by her words.
[I only did that for your growth. So you become self-reliant. But if you really want to know…]
She sighed.
[There is a dungeon boss inside. That is all I'll tell you.]
Lucian smiled faintly.
'Thank you.'
[You are welcome. But don't rely on me too much.]
'Hm.'
He remained still, staying where he was, watching.
Thinking.
Akasha said that the dungeon boss was inside.
'But what about the other goblins? There might be more inside.'
That was what he was worried about the most.
***
Inside the cavern, nearly thirty goblins loitered—eating, sleeping, and engaging in their usual idiocy. A handful guarded the entrance.
At the far end of the cave sat a throne.
It couldn't even be called a throne. It was crude, made from stone stacked unevenly, with bones scattered around it.
Upon it slouched a massive figure—taller, broader, and far more muscular than the others.
Its body was partially hidden in the darkness, but it was slumped slightly, posture slack, as if asleep.
Tak.
A small sound echoed near the entrance.
The goblins, who were guarding the cave, went on alert.
All five of them rushed outside.
Tak.
As they went outside, they heard it again.
It was the sound of stone hitting the ground, but the goblins, dumb and stupid, ran towards it without thinking.
Thud.
Thud.
Instantly, they stopped running and snapped their heads back.
Two of them were slumped on the ground, dead.
On the back of their heads was a bone dagger—penetrated through their skulls.
Before they could react, another blade flew in their direction.
It struck another of them and pierced a goblin's chest.
The goblin screeched—alerting the entire cave.
The remaining two charged towards the source.
Lucian, who was hiding in the corner, punched the first goblin mid-stride, sending it tumbling backwards.
Lucian then sidestepped, dodging the other goblin's attack.
He grabbed his bone knife and slit its throat, killing it instantly.
Then grabbed the knife and threw it at the last goblin.
The blade sank into its shoulder, but didn't kill it.
'I missed again.'
Lucian closed the distance, seized the goblin by the head, and slammed it into the stone floor.
Crack.
He retrieved the knife and thrust it into its neck.
'This is tiring.'