He turned his gaze to the tallest tree in the immediate area—a titan that must have been 200 meters tall, its bark thick as castle walls. Before, it looked like an impossible climb. Now, Lysander's mind instantly mapped out a route, connecting vines, protruding branches, and rough patches of bark into a path.
"Time to climb."
He didn't climb like a human; he moved like a spider.
With Strength 47, his fingers dug into the iron-hard bark like steel hooks. With Agility 44, he leaped up the trunk, clearing ten feet in a single bound.
He reached the first massive branch, thick as a highway. He ran along it, jumping a twenty-foot gap to the next tree without breaking stride. The Silent Step enchantment on his boots made his movements eerily quiet.
Halfway up, the vines became slick with moss. A lesser man would have slipped to his death.
"Too slow."
Lysander saw a branch fifty feet above him.
"Shadow Flash."
ZAP.
He blurred straight up the trunk, bypassing the slippery section instantly, his armored boots slamming onto the higher branch with a solid thud.
He kept going, higher and higher, past nests of giant insects that hissed at him but dared not attack the aura he radiated.
Finally, he broke through the thick ceiling of leaves.
Lysander stood at the very top of the world, balancing on a thick branch, the wind whipping his hooded cloak around him. Below him stretched an endless sea of green, purple, and black foliage the terrifying expanse of the Abyssal Wilds.With his upgraded Intelligence his eyes processed visual data like a hawk. He could see miles in every direction, filtering out the noise and focusing on anomalies.
He scanned the horizon slowly.
North thick purple fog. High mana density. Probably poisonous. Avoid.
East scorched earth. Smoke rising. Active volcanic activity or fire monsters. Avoid.
South: The direction of the cave. The unknown deep.
He turned West.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on a small, unnatural shape jutting out of the green sea miles away. It was barely visible through the haze.
"There," he whispered, pointing.
It was made of grey, weathered stone, covered in thick vines and moss. It was crumbling in places, clearly ancient and long forgotten.
A structure.
"An Abandoned Tower," Lysander analyzed, a plan forming in his sharpened mind. "It's man-made. That means either humans were here once, or something intelligent built it. Either way, it's a landmark."
He memorized the direction.
"That's my first destination. A vantage point, and perhaps, a clue."
Lysander moved through the canopy like a shadow. His new Agility allowed him to leap from branch to branch effortlessly, his eyes locked on the distant grey outline of the Abandoned Tower.
He landed softly on a thick limb covered in moss.
SWISH
There was no sound. No warning roar. Just a sudden displacement of air.
Lysander's new Intelligence his enhanced perception screamed a warning a fraction of a second before his body reacted. He threw himself backward.
SLASH
A massive, jagged green blade sliced through the space where his neck had been a millisecond ago. It cut through the thick tree branch like it was made of butter.
Lysander landed in a crouch on a lower branch, looking up.
Blending perfectly with the leaves was a nightmare. A Scythe-Claw Mantis. It stood two meters tall, its body armored in emerald chitin, rubbing its two massive, saw-like forelegs together.
[ANALYSIS]
[Target: Scythe-Claw Mantis]
[Rank: D]
[Specialty: Extreme Speed / Camouflage]
Lysander let out a long, frustrated sigh. He looked at the monster, then up at the sky.
"I take two steps out of my cave, and I run into an assassin," he muttered, gripping Erebos. "My luck is absolute trash."
The Mantis didn't wait for him to finish complaining. It vanished.
It was so fast that to the naked eye, it looked like it teleported.
CLANG!
Lysander raised his sword just in time. The Mantis's scythe collided with Erebos, sending sparks flying. The impact was heavy—Lysander's boots slid across the bark, digging deep grooves into the wood.
"Fast!" Lysander gritted his teeth.
Unlike the Python, which was a slow, heavy tank, this thing was a duelist.
The Mantis pulled back and unleashed a flurry of strikes.
Left. Right. Overhead. Diagonal.
Lysander was on the defensive. He parried, dodged, and weaved, but he was struggling.
RIIIP.
One of the scythes grazed his ribs. His Night-Viper Armor held—the steel plating absorbed the lethal cut—but the force bruised his side.
"It's faster than me," Lysander analyzed, sweat dripping down his forehead. "If I try to match its speed, I'll lose. I have to use my brain."
The Mantis shrieked, preparing for a killing thrust. It leaped, aiming to skewer Lysander's heart.
Lysander didn't dodge. He stood still.
NOW.
He calculated the trajectory. He didn't move away; he moved in.
"Shadow Flash."
ZAP.
He didn't dash backward. He dashed forward, directly under the Mantis's flying body.
As he slid underneath the insect, he swung Erebos upward with a roar
CRUNCH
The SSS-Rank blade sliced through the softer underbelly of the Mantis. Green blood sprayed over Lysander's armor.
The Mantis crashed onto the branch behind him, thrashing wildly, its legs cut off.
Lysander spun around, not giving it a second to recover. He jumped, driving his sword down into the monster's triangular head.
SQUELCH
Silence returned to the jungle.
[THE REWARD]
Lysander pulled his sword free, breathing heavily. He wiped the green blood from his visor.
"Annoying bug," he spat.
A golden light enveloped him, warmer and brighter than before.
Ding!
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Target Eliminated: Scythe-Claw Mantis]
[Combat Analysis: Hard Difficulty]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[REWARDS GRANTED]
System Points: +150 SP
Current Balance: 241 SP
[STAT GROWTH]
[The intense combat has refined your physical and mental limits]
[Strength: +3]
[Agility: +4]
[Intelligence: +2]
[Vitality: +3]
[Mana: +10]
Lysander felt the exhaustion vanish as the new power flooded his veins. He clenched his fist. The struggle he felt a moment ago was gone.
"Level 14," he whispered, looking at the dead Mantis. "The stronger they are... the faster I grow."
He looked toward the Tower again.
"Next."
Lysander had barely cleaned the green blood of the Mantis off his blade when the air around him grew heavy. The smell of ozone and rotting vegetation returned—the same scent as the Mud-King Python, but sharper, more concentrated.
Hiss… Hiss…
From the shadows of the canopy, they emerged. Not one, but six.
[ENEMY ANALYSIS]
[Target: Iron-Scale Cobra] (Evolved Variant)
[Rank: D]
[Description: Smaller than the Boss he fought earlier, but evolved for speed. Their scales were metallic grey, and their fangs dripped with highly pressurized acid.]
Lysander stood on the thick tree branch, completely surrounded. Six pairs of vertical, reptilian eyes locked onto him.
"Six Rank-Ds," Lysander whispered, his grip tightening on Erebos. A normal adventurer would be paralyzed by fear. A party of veterans would run.
But Lysander? The corners of his mouth twitched upward. His eyes didn't show fear; they burned with a dark, manic excitement.
"Good," he exhaled, his breath visible in the cold air. "I was worried I wouldn't get enough XP today."
The Cobras lunged simultaneously.
[Passive Effect: Demon God's Intimidation]
Lysander didn't move. He simply projected his killing intent. The invisible aura slammed into the snakes. For a micro-second, the beasts hesitated, their primal instincts screaming that this prey was actually a predator.
That split second was all Lysander needed.
"Shadow Flash."
ZAP.
He vanished.
He reappeared mid-air, directly above the Cobra on his right. Gravity and his massive Strength combined as he swung the greatsword downward.
CRUNCH
The blade didn't just cut; it smashed through the metallic scales and severed the snake's head clean off.
[5 REMAIN]
The other five reacted instantly. They opened their jaws.
SPIT!
Streams of sizzling green acid shot toward him from all angles.
"Too slow!" Lysander roared.
He kicked off the dead snake's body, using his Agility to backflip onto a higher branch.
The acid missed him, melting the wood
where he had just stood into black sludge.
[THE GRIND]
Lysander didn't stop moving. He was a blur of black steel and leather. He wall-ran up the trunk, hooked his arm around a branch, and swung himself toward two Cobras positioned together.
They struck at him, their fangs aiming for his throat.
CLANG!
He blocked one bite with the flat of his sword. The impact was heavy—like a sledgehammer—shaking his bones. The second snake bit deep into his left shoulder pauldron. The Night-Viper Armor held against the fangs, but the crushing pressure bruised his muscle.
[Passive Skill: Pain Resistance]
The pain flared hot and sharp, but Lysander's mind simply deleted it. To him, it was just information, not suffering.
"Is that all?" he laughed, his eyes wide with adrenaline.
He released the sword with one hand, grabbed the biting snake by its throat, and squeezed.
CRACK.
With 50 Strength, he crushed its windpipe like a dry twig. He threw the limp body at the other snake, staggering it.
"Now die!"
He gripped Erebos with both hands. The red eye on the blade opened wide.
"Blood Wave!"
WHOOSH
A horizontal crescent of crimson energy exploded from the blade. At this close range, the snakes couldn't dodge. The wave shore through the staggering snake and the one behind it, cutting them both in half. Blood and viscera rained down on the jungle floor.
[2 REMAIN]
The last two Cobras hissed, backing away. They realized their mistake. This wasn't food. This was death.
They turned to flee.
"Oh no," Lysander growled, landing heavily on the branch, his chest heaving but his smile wider than ever. "No witnesses."
He sprinted. Shadow Flash.
ZAP
He appeared in front of them, spinning his body like a tornado, the greatsword acting as a chaotic propeller of destruction.
SLASH. SLASH
Two clean decapitations. The heads fell first, followed by the heavy thud of their bodies.
Silence returned to the canopy. Lysander stood amidst the carnage, drenched in monster blood.
[Passive: Soul Drinker]
The sword hummed violently. Six streams of grey, misty energy rose from the corpses and rushed into the blade, then into Lysander's arm. The bruise on his shoulder vanished instantly. His stamina refilled. The rush of power was intoxicating.
"More..." Lysander whispered, looking at his trembling hands. "I am getting stronger."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A cascade of golden notifications flooded his vision.
[BATTLE COMPLETE]
[Enemies Defeated: Iron-Scale Cobra] (Rank D)
[Performance: Overwhelming Victory]
[Experience Gained: Colossal]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
Lysander gasped as his body underwent a rapid evolution. Muscles tightened, bones grew denser, and his mind expanded.
[STATUS UPDATE]
[Current Level: 14 -> 18]
[REWARDS]
[System Points: +900 SP]
[Current Balance: 1,141 SP]
[ATTRIBUTE INCREASE]
[Due to the intensity of fighting multiple Rank-D targets simultaneously, your stats have surged]
[Strength: 50 -> 58]
[Agility: 48 -> 56]
[Intelligence: 48 -> 52]
[Vitality: 43 -> 50]
[Mana: 280 -> 350]
Lysander stood up straight, feeling the immense power bubbling under his skin. He looked at the Status Screen.
"Level 18," he said, wiping blood from his cheek. "And over 1,000 Points."
He looked toward the distant Abandoned Tower.
"Whatever is waiting in that tower... it better be ready."