CHAPTER 19: The Slaughterhouse
The darkness was not empty. It was thick with the scent of copper and the heavy, humid musk of creatures that had never seen the sun.
As the heavy stone gates of the Trial Grounds ground shut behind them, the only light remaining was the flickering, unstable glow from Hans's wooden staff.
The light revealed a nightmare.
The entrance hall of the dungeon was a wide, circular chamber made of damp obsidian. But the floor was barely visible.
It was covered in the bodies of the students who had entered only seconds before. They hadn't even made it past the threshold before the C-rank monsters had descended.
Lucius, Hans whispered, his voice cracking as the light of his staff caught the glint of yellow eyes hanging from the ceiling. There are... there are too many.
Jax stood back-to-back with Hans, his spear leveled at the darkness. Don't look at the bodies, Hans. Look at the shadows. If you lose your focus, we're next.
A wet, dragging sound echoed from the vaulted ceiling.
Above them, dozens of Skarn-Stalkers—the C-rank evolution of the Skarnlings—clung to the stone with jagged, obsidian claws.
Unlike the E-rank variants Lucius had fought in the caves, these were twice the size, their skin hardened into natural plate armor, and their tails ending in bone-chilling stingers dripping with neurotoxins.
Lucius didn't draw his sword immediately. He stood in the center, his eyes scanning the mana signatures of the monsters.
His Poison Immunity was a silent One scratch from those stingers and they would be paralyzed, left alive for the stalkers to feed on later.
They're circling, Lucius said. His voice was unnervingly calm, a sharp contrast to the screams still echoing from the deeper tunnels of the dungeon.
Hans, widen the light. Jax, keep your spear at a forty-five-degree angle. They like to drop from the blind spots.
Hans swallowed hard, channeling his Mana Bolt Talent into his staff. The glow expanded, pushing the darkness back by another five meters.
The movement triggered the first strike.
Two Skarn-Stalkers detached from the ceiling simultaneously, falling like heavy stones. They didn't screech; they were silent hunters.
Jax! Lucius commanded.
Jax didn't hesitate. He activated his Rare Tier: Piercing Thrust. His spear became a blur of bronze light, the tip whistling through the air.
He didn't aim for the armored chest; he aimed for the soft underbelly exposed during the fall.
The spearhead buried itself in the first monster's throat. Blue, viscous blood sprayed across Jax's face, but he didn't blink.
He twisted the shaft, ripping the weapon out just in time to sidestep the second monster that slammed into the ground where he had been standing.
Hans!
Now!
Jax roared.
Hans pointed his staff at the monster on the ground. A sphere of concentrated mana formed at the tip.
Mana Bolt!
The projectile shot out, striking the Skarn-Stalker in its primary eye. The creature thrashed, its tail whipping around in a desperate, lethal arc.
Lucius moved.
He didn't use his Authority yet. He stepped inside the reach of the monster's tail, his movements precise and economical.
His Advanced sword mastery, which have already been fused.....
with other skills have already been engraved into his soul because of his authority Exodus which allowed him to see the trajectory before the strike even finished.
With a single, clean motion, he drew his blade and severed the stinger from the tail.
The monster shrieked, a high-pitched sound that vibrated in the marrow of their bones.
Finish it,
Lucius said.
Jax stepped forward and drove his spear through the creature's skull, pinning it to the obsidian floor.
You have slain a Skarn-Stalker (C-Rank).
+150 EXP.
+2 Stat Points.
The notification flickered in Lucius's vision, but he didn't stop to admire it.
The shrieking had alerted the rest of the nest. Above them, the ceiling began to move as hundreds of stalkers began to uncoil themselves.
Hans's face was ghostly white. We killed one. There are hundreds left. Lucius,
we have to move!
We can't hold the entrance!
To the left,
Lucius said,
pointing toward a narrow corridor that branched off from the main chamber. It's too small for them to swarm us. If we stay in the open, we die.
They ran.
The sound of claws clicking on stone followed them, a rhythmic, terrifying pursuit.
Behind them, the main chamber had become a frenzy of activity as the monsters began to feed on the less fortunate groups.
As they dived into the narrow corridor, the walls pressed in close. It was barely wide enough for two people to stand abreast.
Stop here, Lucius ordered. Jax, front. Hans, behind him. I'll take the rear.
Lucius turned around to face the entrance of the corridor. The first wave of stalkers was already squeezing into the tunnel, their armored bodies scraping against the stone.
This was the synergy they needed. In the open, Hans's Mana Bolt was too slow to handle a swarm.
But in this narrow space, the monsters were lined up like targets in a gallery.
Hans, fire into the center. Don't stop until your mana hits ten percent, Lucius commanded.
Hans didn't argue. He braced his back against the wall and began firing. Mana Bolt! Mana Bolt! Mana
Bolt!
The corridor lit up in rhythmic strobes of blue light. The lead Skarn-Stalkers were blown apart, their carcasses creating a physical barricade that slowed the ones behind them.
Jax used his spear to push the twitching limbs back, ensuring the path remained clear enough for them to retreat further if needed.
But Lucius was watching the ceiling of the corridor. He knew the C-rank monsters weren't just brutes; they had instincts.
Jax, look up! Lucius barked.
A Skarn-Stalker had squeezed through a narrow fissure in the ceiling, its mandibles inches from Jax's head.
Jax reacted with pure Instinct, his body ducking before his mind even realized the danger.
He thrust his spear upward, but the angle was wrong. The spear glanced off the creature's armored head.
The monster dropped onto Jax, its weight slamming him into the floor.
Jax! Hans screamed, his mana bolt veering off target and hitting the wall.
The barricade of dead monsters at the front of the tunnel was being pushed aside. The swarm was coming through.
Lucius exhaled. It was time.
He didn't use Teleportation. He knew everyone was watching, even if the surveillance was low.
He needed to be faster than the eye could follow without revealing the "God Tier" nature of his evolution.
Void Displacement.
Lucius disappeared.
To Hans and Jax, it looked like a blur of black cloth. In reality, Lucius had stepped through the void, bypassing the three meters of stone and chaos between him and Jax.
He reappeared standing over Jax. His sword was already mid-swing.
Slash!
The blade, reinforced by the momentum of the displacement, sliced through the Skarn-Stalker's neck like it was wet parchment. The head rolled away, and the heavy body slumped off Jax.
Lucius grabbed Jax by the collar and hauled him up. Back to the formation.
Now!
Jax stared at Lucius for a split second, his eyes wide with shock. You... you didn't charge your talent. You just moved.
The delay is shorter when the distance is small, Lucius lied, his voice cold. Focus on the tunnel.
They resumed the slaughter.
For twenty minutes, the narrow corridor became a choke point of gore. Hans's mana was nearly depleted, his breathing heavy and ragged.
Jax's arms were trembling from the sheer number of thrusts he had performed.
But Lucius stood at the back, his eyes fixed on the entrance. He wasn't tired. Every kill was feeding him. Every death was a step closer to the next level.
You have slain a Skarn-Stalker...You have slain a Skarn-Stalker...
Level Up!
Level Up!
[Status Window]
Name: Lucius van Venus
Level: 18
Talents: Law of one[God Tier] (Can combine skills/ talents to create a different one)
Strength: 19
Agility: 20
Mana: 26
Sensitivity: 15
Endurance: 13
Available Stat Points:8
AUTHORITIES
Authority: EXODUS [??]
Chapter 1: All Things Being Equal (Passive/Active Domain. Forces parity between the user and all entities within a 5-meter radius. Strips away level advantages and stat-buffs)
Chapter 2: White Void
A domain-type Authority that drags the user and target into an isolated space known as the White Void.
Inside this space:- No interference. No escape.- Only the user and the target exist.
The user gains:- +50% increase to all stats
- Enhanced perception and control
Limitations:If the target is far stronger, the Void will destabilize and eventually shatter, returning both to reality.
• High mana consumption.
•(Remaining Chapters:Sealed)
Exodus:[ Conceptual Sword Art]
[Nature]:A law-bound scripture. The user acts as both Author and Executor.
[Mechanics]:Techniques are created through pure imagination and intent.
Authority: VOID DISPLACEMENT [??]
A spatial Authority derived from Teleportation.
→ Allows instantaneous displacement without delay.
→ Ignores conventional activation time.
→ Limited to 3 uses per day due to strain on space stability.
Uses Remaining: 3/3 (Charges reset every 24 hours)
Description: Instantaneous movement through the void.
This is the evolution of the Unique Teleportation.
It has zero cast time and bypasses all physical and magical barriers.
SKILLS:
Poison Immunity[max]
Immune to all poison and abnormal status effects.
The notifications were a silent drumbeat in his head. But the swarm was finally thinning.
The Skarn-Stalkers were not mindless; they realized the narrow tunnel was a graveyard.
The clicking of claws began to recede as the survivors retreated back into the main chamber or deeper into the dungeon.
Silence returned to the corridor, broken only by Hans's desperate gasping for air.
We... we survived, Hans wheezed, slumping against the wall. His staff was dim, the wood cracked from the heat of the mana he had channeled. We actually survived a C-rank swarm.
Jax wiped the blue blood from his spear, looking at Lucius with a new kind of intensity. It wasn't your Teleportation, was it?
That movement... it didn't feel like a talent. It felt like the world just decided you were over there.
It was a talent, Lucius replied, sheathing his sword. Just one you haven't seen before.
He looked deeper into the corridor. The path sloped downward, leading toward the heart of the Trial Grounds.
This was only the first room, Lucius said. The Vice Headmaster said there are three stages to the exam. If the dungeon is this rigged, the Sparring and the Written test will be even worse.
We need to find the boss of this sector and clear it before the other groups realize they can use the corpses as shields.
Jax stood up, his spear held tight. You're leading, aren't you?
Lucius looked back at the entrance, where the screams of other students were finally fading into a permanent, chilling silence.
I am leading, Lucius said. But if you want to live to see the Sparring arena, you stop asking questions and start moving. We have a C-rank boss to find.
They moved deeper into the dark, leaving the pile of armored carcasses behind.
The air grew colder, and the walls began to glow with a faint, sickly bioluminescence.
The real exam had only just begun.
To Be Continued.....