Ayush took a deep, steadying breath, his fingers wrapping firmly around the hilt of the Abyssal Dagger. The rare dark-blue gem embedded in the crossguard pulsed with a cold, rhythmic light, matching the sudden spike of adrenaline in his veins. With a flick of his wrist, he activated one of his skill.
Black, viscous energy coiled tightly around his left arm, solidifying into a jagged, razor-sharp shadow finger claws, while his right hand wielded the abyssal dagger. It was an unconventional, highly lethal hybrid stance—one hand built for tearing armor, the other forged for deep, piercing strikes. Beneath his obsidian mask, Ayush's heart hammered against his ribs. He felt a tense, nervous knot in his stomach, but beneath the fear burned a fierce, undeniable spark of excitement. This was his first real test with gear that actually mattered.
Across the massive, stone-carved arena, Len stood completely relaxed, his hands resting loosely at his sides.
"Show me what you've got," Len muttered, his red eyes flashing.
Without warning, a violent burst of crimson heat erupted over Len's right arm. Flames licked up his forearm, turning his skin into a living, roaring mass of pure fire.
Ayush's eyes narrowed as cold calculation took over. 'That's the exact same fire skill he used back in the forest when he actually started trying,' Ayush thought, his internal monologue racing. 'That means he's treating this seriously right from the start. I can't afford to hold back or test the waters. I need to go all out.'
Ayush dropped his nervous stance, his posture instantly shifting from anxious trainee to focused predator.
Len broke into a sharp stride, his voice carrying across the cavern floor like a warning bell. "Rule number one of a real battlefield, kid: if you fight someone, never let them read you. Don't show your expressions, don't telegraph your moves, and for the love of the abyss, never let them know what condition you're in. A poker face keeps you alive."
Ayush didn't answer. He locked his breathing, blanked his facial expression behind his mask, and exploded forward.
Closing the distance in a fraction of a second, Ayush hurled himself upward, aiming a vicious, downward slash with the Abyssal Dagger straight at Len's skull.
Len didn't even flinch. With casual, insulting ease, he raised his flaming arm and caught Ayush's wrist mid-swing. The sheer kinetic force of Ayush's strike was completely nullified by Len's bare grip, the fire singeing the air inches from Ayush's mask.
"I knew he'd block that!" Ayush thought, a grim smirk forming beneath his mask. "That was just the setup!"
In a flash of dark mana, Ayush summoned his shadow soldier. Right behind Len's blind spot, a shadow soldier come out of the air —a newly spawned shadow soldier. The entity lunged forward with blinding speed, wrapping its arms tightly around Len's torso in a desperate bear hug to lock down his movements.
For a microsecond, it looked like it worked. But Len merely glanced sideways.
The moment his fiery, crimson gaze locked onto the shadow soldier, the construct let out a silent shriek and simply dissolved into thin air, erased by nothing more than a lethal glare.
'Tch—!' Ayush gritted his teeth.
Using the split-second distraction of the vanishing summon, Ayush channeled every ounce of his remaining momentum. He twisted his body mid-air, bringing his shadowy hand claws up in a sharp hook aimed right at Len's jaw.
It was a brilliant tactical recovery. But Len was an apex monster.
Before Ayush's fist could connect, Len's free hand shot out like a striking viper, grabbing Ayush firmly by the back of the head. The sheer stopping power sent a shockwave through Ayush's skull. Len's arm cocked back, his fingers tightening as he prepared to drive Ayush's face straight into the unforgiving stone floor with enough force to shatter bone.
Ayush's survival instincts screamed in absolute terror. Paralyzed by the impending impact, he threw his head back and let out a raw, desperate shriek:
"WAIT! YOU CAN'T JUST KILL!"
Len's hand froze mid-air, barely an inch away from the stone floor.
The heavy, suffocating pressure lingering in the arena instantly evaporated. Len exhaled a slow, calm breath, loosened his grip, and casually stood back up, dusting off his coat as he walked a few paces backward.
"You panicked at the very end," Len said, his tone flat and unbothered. "Your combat IQ is there, and your tactical setups are decent, but you rely too much on flashy tricks. Learn to use your brain and your core powers efficiently instead of wasting mana on mindless distractions."
Hours bled into the night.
The sound of crashing stone, roaring flames, and heavy breathing echoed relentlessly through the cavern as the grueling training session continued without mercy.
THUD.
Ayush's legs finally gave out. He collapsed face-first onto the cold ground, his entire body trembling violently. He lay there flat on his back, staring up at the bioluminescent ceiling, his chest heaving as he gasped for air, fighting the burning sensation in his lungs.
Standing a few feet away, Len looked down at him. The Demon General didn't have a single scratch on him. His clothes were immaculate, his breathing was steady, and he looked as though he had merely taken a casual afternoon stroll.
Ayush coughed weakly, turning his head sideways. "How... how are you still completely fine...?" he wheezed, his voice hoarse. "You're... you're still not even showing a single sign of fatigue."
Len crossed his arms, looking down at the broken boy with a stoic expression. "Because, unlike you, I am permanently anchored to the heart of this domain."
Ayush forced himself up onto his elbows, his eyes widening with realization as the pieces clicked together in his exhausted mind. "I... I get it now. You're bound to this underground place, aren't you? That's why you literally cannot die here. This place constantly feeds you an infinite stream of mana and raw energy... and it grants you breaking skills and domain authorities that you could never pull off outside in the real world."
Len stared at him for a long moment, a faint, cryptic smile touching his lips. "Well... yeah. That's true, I suppose."
Ayush's eyes lit up with a desperate, wild ambition. He pushed himself up onto his knees, staring intently at the Demon General. "If that's how it works... can I get that power as well? Can you teach me how to become bound to this kind of absolute authority?"
The moment those words left Ayush's mouth, the temperature in the cavern plummeted.
Len's relaxed posture vanished in an instant. His red eyes flared with a sudden, terrifying, razor-sharp hostility. He glared down at Ayush with a look so intensely dark and murderous that it felt like a physical weight pressing down on the boy's chest.
"Don't you dare," Len whispered, his voice dropping an octave, echoing with cold, absolute finality. "Don't ever try to take a shortcut like that. Never even think about binding your soul to a domain."
Ayush flinched, swallowing hard as the sheer killing intent washed over him. He quickly looked away, opening his floating system window with trembling fingers to calm his nerves.
He tapped his inventory tab, carefully dragging the Abyssal Fragment Dagger back into its secure storage slot. he deactivated his skills. The black, viscous energy wrapping around his arm dissolved into mist, and his physical form returned completely to normal—human, vulnerable, and utterly spent.
Curious about the toll the brutal session had taken on him, Ayush pulled up his active [Status Window]:
--- USER STATUS ---
Name: Ayush
Stamina: 0
Mana: 0
Strength: 2
Speed: 1
Intelligence: 119
The numbers stared back at him ruthlessly. His physical stats had cratered to absolute zero due to overexertion, but his intelligence stat remained terrifyingly high, processing every single beat of the lesson he had just learned.
Seeing the boy sitting quietly in the dirt, the intense hostility in Len's eyes melted away as quickly as it had appeared. He let out a soft sigh, walked over, and extended a strong, calloused hand down toward Ayush.
Ayush blinked behind his mask, hesitated for a second, and grabbed Len's hand. With a single, effortless heave, Len hauled him straight to his feet.
Ayush wobbled slightly, brushed the dust and dirt off his tattered clothes, and reached up to adjust the straps of his obsidian mask, making sure it was securely locked in place.
Len turned around, gesturing toward the glowing, distant pathways leading back toward the residential district.
"Come on," Len said, his tone returning to its usual steady, composed calm. "Let's go. I'm going to turn you into the greatest,strongest, and the most intelligent complete powerhouse this entire world has ever seen."
Len glanced back over his shoulder with a rare, faint smirk. "Forget the training for tonight. Let's just go find somewhere good to eat. Dinner's on me."