Reawakening: SSS-Rank Villain's POV-Chapter 123: Difficulty And A Strange Human!
Lucian turned his back on the red-haired flame user, the image of the smoldering Frost Tiger carcass fading from his immediate thoughts. Julius was powerful, undoubtedly one of the top contenders in this batch of freshmen, but dwelling on potential rivals was a waste of energy.
He picked up his pace, jogging away from the clearing where the battle had taken place. The rocky terrain of the 25-kilometer zone offered little cover, just jagged formations and sparse, hardy bushes. He went through it with ease, his enhanced agility allowing him to leap across massive crevices effortlessly.
Julius watched him go, a storm brewing behind his cold grey eyes. The indifference from the stranger, Lucian, was I'm rent aggravating. It wasn't arrogance, not exactly, but a calm self-assurance that Julius couldn't fathom. How could someone so young, presumably a fellow freshman, be so unfazed this deep in the dimension? And that brief observation about his flame control… it was accurate, annoyingly so. Julius prided himself on his A-rank Flame Dragon talent, honed through rigorous training from his family ancestors even before his awakening. For this stranger to assess it so casually…
'Lucian...' Julius committed the name and face to memory. 'Hidden tiger indeed. This sorting ceremony won't be the simple coronation I envisioned.' He clenched his fists, residual heat flaring briefly. He needed more points, needed to push deeper himself. He couldn't afford to fall behind, especially not to someone like that. With a final glance in the direction Lucian had disappeared, Julius turned and headed towards a different path, his competitive spirit ignited.
Lucian, meanwhile, was already crossing into what felt like the 30-kilometer zone. The air grew noticeably hotter, and the scent of sulfur became more pronounced. The jagged obsidian rocks gave way to cracked, dark earth that radiated heat. Small fissures snaked across the ground, venting puffs of steam and occasionally spitting small gouts of flame. This place felt volcanic, unstable.
His perception flared. Movement ahead. Low to the ground. Multiple signatures.
He slowed, crouching slightly, looking through a gap between two heat-warped boulders. It was then he saw them, creatures resembling oversized lizards, but their scales were the color of cooling magma, dark grey with glowing orange lines crisscrossing their bodies like veins. They moved in a pack, snapping at small, fiery insects buzzing near a steam vent.
[Level 31 Magma Crawler (Pack of 8)]
[Skills: Magma Spit, Heat Aura (Minor AOE Burn)]
Eight of them. Level 31. A decent warm-up for this zone. Lucian gripped Dragon Soul Devourer, its cool metal a comforting contrast to the ambient heat.
One of the Magma Crawlers spotted him. It hissed, a sound like scraping rock, and spat a glob of viscous, glowing orange liquid.
"Swoosh!"
The magma blob sailed through the air, trailing smoke. Lucian sidestepped easily. The blob splattered against the rock behind him, instantly melting a shallow crater into the surface with a loud sizzle. Really nasty!
The other Crawlers immediately turned. They hissed in unison and charged, surprisingly fast for their bodies, their heat signatures creating shimmering distortions around them as they moved within incredible speed.
Lucian snorted coldly, his body moved as he
met them head-on. He didn't waste time with fancy techniques. He relied on raw speed and power.
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"Whoosh!" He activated [Crimson Shadow Step], becoming a red blur that weaved between the charging lizards like the cobwebs of a spider that's could not be touched or comprehended.
His spear suddenly lashed out like a whip!
"Thrust!"
The tip punched through the tough, heat-resistant hide of the nearest Crawler, finding the softer tissue beneath.
[You have killed a Level 31 Magma Crawler. +230 XP. +31 Kill Points.]
[SS-Rank Skill: Blood Devour Activated!] → +1 Physique
He didn't retract the spear immediately. Using the impaled Crawler as a pivot point, he spun, kicking out with explosive force.
"BANG!"
His foot connected with the side of another Crawler's head.
"CRACK!"
The skull imploded into multiple pieces.
[You have killed a Level 31 Magma Crawler. +230 XP. +31 Kill Points.] → +1 Strength
Two down in barely a second. The remaining six converged, spitting magma, snapping jaws. Lucian flowed between them as though he was nothing more than a mere illusion, a shadow tags couldn't be touched!
He slapped the spear shaft against one's snout, stunning it momentarily.
"Clang!"
He spun, the spear's edge slicing through the neck of another.
"Slice!"
He ducked under a magma spit, the heat washing over his back harmlessly thanks to his armor and innate resistances. He kicked another Crawler into a steam vent, eliciting a pained hiss.
[You have killed a Level 31 Magma Crawler. +230 XP. +31 Kill Points.] → +1 Agility
[You have killed a Level 31 Magma Crawler. +230 XP. +31 Kill Points.]
[You have killed a Level 31 Magma Crawler. +230 XP. +31 Kill Points.]
He finished the last three with swift, brutal efficiency. The entire encounter lasted less than ten seconds.
[Kill Points: 1175]
He continued deeper, the volcanic terrain becoming more pronounced. Rivers of slow-moving lava flowed in deep channels, casting an oppressive red glow. The air shimmered constantly with heat. He encountered creatures adapted to this environment: [Level 34 Obsidian Elementals], slow but incredibly durable beings made of sharp volcanic glass, and [Level 36 Ash Vipers], snakes that burrowed through the heated ground and attacked with venomous, superheated fangs.
The Elementals required focused strikes to their core, bypassing their tough exterior. Lucian used [Voidseer's Insight] to pinpoint the dimly glowing core within their glassy bodies, then unleashed precise [Sovereign's Devastation] thrusts, shattering them from the inside out.
[You have killed a Level 34 Obsidian Elemental. +300 XP. +34 Kill Points.] → +1 Physique
[Kill Points: 1209]
The Ash Vipers were trickier, their burrowing ability making them hard to track. But Lucian's perception was too sharp. He could sense the vibrations of their movement beneath the surface. He'd stomp hard – [Minor Earth Tremor] – forcing them to surface momentarily, then dispatch them with lightning-fast spear strikes before they could burrow again.
[You have killed a Level 36 Ash Viper. +350 XP. +36 Kill Points.] → +1 Agility
[Kill Points: 1245]
He found a cluster of fire-resistant herbs growing dangerously close to a lava flow, guarded by a [Level 38 Lavaback Tortoise] whose shell literally dripped magma. The fight involved luring the slow tortoise away from the herbs, cracking its incredibly tough shell with repeated, mana-infused blows, and finally piercing its skull.
[You have killed a Level 38 Lavaback Tortoise. +400 XP. +38 Kill Points.] → +2 Physique
[Item Acquired: Lavaback Shell Fragment (Rare)]
[Item Acquired: Firebloom Petals x 5 (Rare Resource)]
[Kill Points: 1283]
He stored the materials. He briefly considered rerolling the shell fragment but decided against wasting a charge on a Rare material. His kill points were climbing nicely. He crossed the 40-kilometer mark.
Here, the environment became even more hellish. The sky was a perpetual, angry red. Ash rained down intermittently. The ground was almost entirely volcanic rock, sharp and treacherous. The heat was intense enough to make ordinary gear smolder.
Suddenly, a section of the ground ahead bulged upwards, then erupted. A massive, worm-like creature burst out, its body segmented and covered in thick, overlapping plates of obsidian armor. Its head was a gaping maw filled with concentric rings of razor-sharp teeth, and it radiated immense heat.
[Level 43 Magma Wyrm]
[Skills: Magma Beam, Armored Charge, Eruption Burst (AOE)]
The Wyrm let out a deafening roar, a sound like rock grinding against metal amplified a thousand times. It fixed its multiple, simple eyes on Lucian and lowered its head, preparing to charge. Its armored segments scraped against the rock, sending sparks flying.
"Finally, something slightly more interesting," Lucian muttered. Level 43. This should provide a decent number of points.
The Wyrm charged, moving surprisingly fast for its size, a living engine of destruction. Its maw opened, gathering intense orange energy.
[Skill Activated: Magma Beam!]
A thick beam of pure, liquid heat shot towards Lucian. It wasn't just hot; it carried immense kinetic force.
Lucian didn't try to block. He activated [Crimson Shadow Step], vanishing just as the beam tore through the space he occupied. The beam slammed into a rock formation behind him, instantly melting it into slag. VWOOOSH!
He reappeared to the Wyrm's side as it thundered past. He leaped onto its back, his boots finding purchase on the obsidian plates. The heat radiating from the creature was intense, but his gear and physique handled it.
He ran along the Wyrm's segmented back, spear held ready. The Wyrm thrashed, trying to shake him off, smashing its body against rock walls, but Lucian moved like he was glued to it, adjusting his balance effortlessly.
He reached the area just behind its head, where the armor plates seemed slightly less thick. He planted his feet, channeling mana into his weapon.
"[Mountain-Cleaving Slash]!"
The golden-red crescent erupted, slamming down onto the Wyrm's plated neck joint.
KRA-SHIIING!
Sparks flew. The obsidian plates cracked, buckled, but didn't break entirely. This thing was tough!
The Wyrm roared in pain and fury, suddenly halting its charge and coiling violently. Its body began to glow brighter, hotter.
[Skill Activated: Eruption Burst!]
