CHAPTER 20: The Bioluminescent Grave
The narrow corridor finally opened into a sprawling subterranean grotto.
The damp obsidian walls of the upper levels had given way to jagged limestone covered in a thick, pulsing layer of fungal moss.
The light here was not from Hans's staff, but from a sickly, pale-green bioluminescence emitted by spores floating in the air.
It was beautiful in a way that signaled only death.
Lucius led the way, his boots making no sound on the soft, mossy floor.
Behind him, Hans was gulping down a low-grade mana potion he had hidden in his tunic, his eyes darting toward every shadow.
Jax followed, his spear held in a low guard, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
"Don't breathe too deeply," Lucius warned.
His voice was a mere shadow of a sound. "The spores are a natural hallucinogen. They are meant to slow your reaction time before the predators strike."
Hans pulled his collar over his nose. "How do you even know that? This isn't in any of the E-rank manuals we were given."
"Because this isn't an E-rank dungeon," Lucius replied.
He didn't tell them that his soul felt the toxicity in the air.
His Poison Immunity [Max] was already filtering the spores before they could touch his nervous system.
Even without the system's explicit skill icons, Lucius felt the weight of his sword as a part of his own body. Because of Exodus, his blade was the physical manifestation of his intent.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Sector of the Trial Grounds, the atmosphere was far louder.
Prince Julian Garcia of the Royal Family stood in the center of a scorched clearing, surrounded by the charred remains of a dozen Skarn-Stalkers.
Blue sparks still danced across his white-and-gold uniform, which remained impeccably clean despite the carnage.
"Is this all the Academy has to offer?" Julian asked, his voice filled with a lazy, dangerous boredom. "I was promised a challenge, yet these C-rank mongrels die to a single spark."
Beside him, a tall, regal girl with raven hair—Kaelera of the Northern Dwarven Kingdom—was wiping a heavy, runic axe. Unlike the Empire's mages, she fought with a brutal, mechanical efficiency.
"Don't be arrogant, Julian," Kaelera grumbled, her voice deep and resonant. "The mana density is shifting. We are only in the outer ring. The Academy wouldn't use a Transcender like Evelyn Moron just to show us a few bugs."
"Let them come," Julian smirked, his golden eyes glowing. "My Thunder God Talent doesn't care about mana density. It only cares about targets."
Further south, a group of students from the Holy Kingdom of Denmarkia were moving in a tight phalanx. Their leader, a boy named Elias with a 'Blessed Shield' Talent, kept a shimmering white dome over his teammates.
They weren't fighting for glory; they were moving with the cold, calculated discipline of a crusading army.
"The Venus boy is in the Western Sector," one of the Denmarkia students whispered. "The commoners are saying he was paired with the dregs of the dorms. He won't last an hour."
"Focus on your own survival," Elias commanded. "If the Fallen Count dies, it's just one less obstacle for the Holy Kingdom."
Back in the Western Grotto, the green bioluminescence began to change.
The air grew heavy, smelling of sulfur and rotting meat. The trio reached a massive archway made of calcified bone.
At the center of the archway hung a creature that looked like a twisted fusion of a bat and a spider—a Screech-Wraith.
It was a C-Rank Mini-Boss.
The creature's wingspan was easily four meters.
Its body was covered in fine, translucent hairs that vibrated with the slightest movement of air.
"Jax, Hans, get back," Lucius
commanded.
"Lucius, that thing... the pressure it's giving off is insane," Jax whispered, his grip tightening on his spear. "We should use synergy.
I can draw its attention while Hans—"
"No," Lucius interrupted. "Your armor won't stop a sonic vibration. Stay ten meters back and keep the light focused."
Lucius stepped forward alone.
The Screech-Wraith opened its eyes—four milky-white orbs.
It let out a sub-sonic pulse that made the limestone walls vibrate. Hans and Jax winced, clutching their ears as the invisible wave hit them, but Lucius didn't flinch.
His Sword Mastery, now engraved into his soul, allowed him to perceive the "flow" of the air itself. He could see the distortion caused by the sound wave before it reached him.
He drew his blade.
The Wraith dived. It moved with a jerky, unnatural speed. To Hans and Jax, it looked like a blur of grey leather and claws.
Lucius didn't use Void Displacement. He didn't need to.
He moved in a half-circle, his body pivoting on the ball of his foot.
As the Wraith's claws whistled past his chest, Lucius brought his sword up in a vertical arc.
Slash.
The blade bit deep into the Wraith's wing. The creature shrieked—this time a high-pitched sound that shattered the nearby glowing mushrooms.
Lucius didn't stop. He stepped into the creature's guard.
Exodus: Conceptual Sword Art.
In his mind, he imagined a single point of absolute pressure.
The sword tip glowed with a faint, oppressive light as he thrust forward. The blade pierced the Wraith's chest, exiting through its back.
With a twist of his wrist, Lucius retracted the blade. The Screech-Wraith collapsed into a heap of twitching limbs.
[You have slain a Screech-Wraith (C-Rank Mini-Boss)]
+800 EXP
Lucius stood over the corpse, his breathing steady.
He opened his Status Window to distribute the points he had accumulated.
He knew that while his mastery was at the peak, his physical vessel still needed to be reinforced.
---
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name:Lucius van Venus
Title: Overlord of the Abyss
Level: 18
Talents: Law of One [God Tier]
Strength: 21 (+2)
Agility: 24 (+4)
Mana: 28 (+2)
Sensitivity: 15
Endurance: 13
Available Stat Points: 0
---
AUTHORITIES
1. 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.
+50% increase to all stats. Enhanced perception and control.)
" Exodus: [Conceptual Sword Art] "
(Nature: A law-bound scripture. The user acts as both Author and Executor.)
2. VOID DISPLACEMENT [??]
Uses Remaining: 2/3
SKILLS
Poison Immunity [Max](Immune to all poison and abnormal status effects.)
---
Lucius looked at his stats. He had 8 points to spare, but he held them for a moment, sensing the shift in the air.
"You... you killed a C-rank Mini-Boss in three moves," Hans stammered, stepping closer. "Without even using a talent? Lucius, how?"
"Focus, Hans," Lucius replied, wiping the black ichor from his blade. "The Mini-Boss was just a gatekeeper."
They moved toward a shimmering veil of water at the far end of the grotto. As they approached, the bioluminescence changed from green to a deep, blood-red. The air grew heavy.
Lucius stopped.
His Sensitivity was screaming. Through the veil of the waterfall, he could see a massive silhouette.
"Hans, turn off the light," Lucius commanded.
"What? But we won't see—"
"Turn it off. It's a beacon. Whatever is behind that water already knows we are here."
As the glow from the staff died, the red light of the grotto became overwhelming. From behind the waterfall, a deep, guttural vibration shook the ground.
A massive head, covered in bone-plate and dripping with glowing red slime, poked through the water.
[Dungeon Boss: Skarn-Queen]Rank: C (Peak)
The Skarn-Queen was massive, her many legs clicking against the stone like a hundred hammers. Her thorax was bloated with unhatched eggs, and her mandibles dripped with a corrosive acid that sizzled against the moss.
"A Peak C-rank..." Jax whispered, his voice failing him. "This shouldn't be here. An E-rank dungeon shouldn't be able to support a Queen's mana signature."
Hans couldn't breathe.Jax instinct screamed to run
"The Vice Headmaster didn't lie," Lucius said, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. "She said the dungeon was E-rank. She didn't say the monsters inside hadn't evolved beyond the walls."
Lucius looked at his two companions. They were terrified, but they were still standing. If they fought this monster conventionally, they would be dead in seconds.
"Hans, get behind that limestone pillar. Don't fire until I give the word. Jax, find a high point. If she tries to charge, I need you to drop from above and aim for the joints in her legs. I'll draw the aggro."
"Lucius, you can't," Hans hissed. "It's a Queen! Look at the size of it!"
Lucius looked at the Skarn-Queen as it fully emerged from the water.
"I have the Law," Lucius said, his eyes turning cold and sharp. "And in my domain, even a Queen has to bow."
He stepped forward into the red light, his silhouette small against the mountainous form of the monster. He didn't use Void Displacement yet. He simply stood there, his mana coiling, waiting for the Queen to make the first move.
Far above, in the observation room of the Academy, Vice Headmaster Evelyn Moron leaned forward, her violet eyes fixed on the screen showing the Western Sector.
"The Venus boy," she murmured, a faint, predatory smile touching her lips. "Let's see if your 'useless' talent can survive a Queen's hunger."
To Be Continued....