The Whispering Woods were not meant for casual strolls. The trees here were ancient, their roots twisted like gnarled fingers, and the canopy was so thick that the forest floor was trapped in perpetual twilight.
Lux stepped over a moss-covered log, the Soul-Reaper's Crescent resting casually on his shoulder.
To anyone else, the weapon would have weighed fifty pounds. But in Lux's hands, thanks to the bloodline enchantment, it felt lighter than a broomstick.
"Three targets, ten o'clock," Elara whispered from his right.
She moved silently, her boots barely disturbing the dead leaves. She was in her element. The forest wasn't scary to her; it was a buffet of targets.
Lux engaged his [Eros Perception].
The world shifted. The gray forest was overlaid with faint red outlines. Hiding in the brush were three Needle-Spine Boars.
[Target: Needle-Spine Boar]
[Rank: F+]
[Weakness: Underbelly / Eyes]
"I'll flush them out," Elara said, raising a hand.
"No," Lux stopped her. "I need the practice. Let me engage. You cover my back."
Elara hesitated, her protective instincts warring with her obedience. "If they get within biting range, I will freeze them."
"Fair enough."
Lux took a breath. He gripped the black ironwood shaft of the scythe with both hands.
'Okay, Level 6 stats. Don't trip.'
He stepped on a dry twig. SNAP.
The bushes exploded.
SQUEAL!
The three boars charged instantly. They were ugly things—muscle-bound pigs with porcupine quills made of steel. They moved fast, tearing up the earth.
Lux's heart hammered, but his mind was strangely clear. The [Wolf-Blood Pill]'s residual effects were gone, but the combat experience from the spar remained.
'First one.'
He didn't retreat. He pivoted on his back foot, using the scythe's length.
He swung.
The silver blade hummed—a low, mournful note.
Lux aimed low. The scythe hooked around the leading boar's legs.
SHLICK.
There was no resistance. The blade passed through bone and muscle like it was cutting water. The boar collapsed, its front legs severed cleanly, squealing in shock.
[Kill Assist: +10 XP]
[Weapon Passive Triggered: Mana Siphon.]
A faint blue wisp of energy left the dying boar and flowed into the scythe, then into Lux's arm. He felt a tiny jolt of refreshment.
"Two left!" Lux shouted.
The other two boars didn't stop. They split up to flank him.
Lux wasn't fast enough to swing the massive weapon back in time for a second strike.
"Too wide, Master!" Elara critiqued calmly from the sidelines.
The boar on the left leaped.
Lux let go of the scythe with one hand and punched out with his glowing left palm.
[Aphrodisiac Hands: Impact]
THUD.
He caught the boar mid-air. The heat blast didn't kill it, but the sudden sensory overload made the beast convulse. It hit the ground, twitching.
But the third boar was already at his ankles.
Lux gritted his teeth, preparing for the pain of quills in his leg.
CRACK.
A spike of black ice erupted from the ground, impaling the third boar right through the chin, pinning it mid-charge.
Elara lowered her hand. "You left your right side open."
Lux exhaled, swinging the scythe down to finish the convulsing boar with a clean decapitation.
"I was baiting it," he lied, wiping sweat from his brow.
Elara smirked. "Of course you were."
The Grind
For the next three hours, they carved a path of destruction through the woods.
Lux's technique was messy, but his weapon was overpowered, and his partner was a cheat code.
He learned quickly. He learned that the scythe was best for crowd control—keeping enemies at a distance. He learned that [Flash Step] burned stamina fast, so he had to save it for dodging lunges.
And most importantly, he learned how the System rewards worked.
* F-Rank Kill: +10 XP.
* E-Rank Kill: +50 XP.
* Harvesting Cores: Bonus EP.
They killed a nest of Giant Spiders (Lux hated the sound they made when squished), a solitary Timber Wolf, and a swarm of acidic beetles.
By noon, Lux was covered in green and black ichor, panting heavily.
[Ding!]
[Level Up! Level 6 -> Level 7]
[Level Up! Level 7 -> Level 8]
[Attribute Points Available: 10]
"Status," Lux wheezed, leaning on his scythe.
Name: Lux von Greylock
Level: 8
Strength: 25 (Average Soldier)
Agility: 20
Vitality: 30
Mana: 200/200
EP: 2,650 (Gained from Cores/Kills)
"Not bad," Lux grinned. He felt power thrumming in his veins. A week ago, walking up stairs winded him. Now, he had the strength of a trained soldier.
"Master," Elara called out. She was standing near a dense thicket of thorns, her body tense. "You should see this."
Lux straightened up, sensing the shift in her mood.
He walked over.
Behind the thorns was a small clearing.
In the center lay the remains of a camp. A torn tent, a dead campfire, and... a body.
It wasn't fresh. It had been there for a few days. A man in leather armor, clutching a broken sword.
"Adventurer?" Lux asked.
"No," Elara knelt beside the corpse. She pointed to the insignia on the man's torn cloak. A red hawk.
"A tax collector's guard. From Oakhaven."
Lux frowned. "What killed him?"
Elara flipped the body over.
The man's chest had been crushed. Not bitten. Crushed. Like a giant hammer had hit him.
"Blunt force," Elara analyzed. "Massive strength. Troll? Or Ogre."
BOOM.
BOOM.
The ground shook.
Birds flew from the trees above them.
From the darkness of the deeper woods, a heavy, rhythmic thumping approached. It sounded like tree trunks slamming into the earth.
"Speak of the devil," Lux muttered, gripping his scythe.
A creature stepped into the clearing.
It stood nine feet tall. Its skin was like grey rock, covered in patches of moss. It had a singular, glowing yellow eye and massive tusks. In its hand, it dragged a tree trunk stripped of branches—a crude club.
[System Warning: Boss Monster Detected.]
[Target: Moss-Skin Forest Troll]
[Rank: D+]
[Ability: High Regeneration / Stone Skin]
"A D-Rank," Lux said, his mouth going dry. "That's a Knight-level threat."
Elara stood up, black ice forming over her arms like gauntlets.
"I can kill it, Master. But it will take time to freeze it completely."
"No," Lux watched the Troll roar, spitting saliva that sizzled on the grass.
He saw the XP bar over the monster's head. It was juicy.
"We kill it together," Lux commanded. "Elara, restrict its movement. Freeze its legs. I'll take the head."
"It has stone skin, Master. Your scythe might bounce off."
"Not if I heat it up," Lux grinned dangerously.
He activated [Aphrodisiac Hands], but instead of touching an enemy, he ran his hand along the blade of his own Scythe.
He dumped 100 Mana into the skill.
The silver blade turned searing red. The "weightless" enchantment flickered, struggling against the heat, but held.
"Go!"
Elara blurred forward. "Ice Bind!"
She slid between the Troll's legs, slapping the ground. Black ice exploded upward, encasing the Troll's ankles and knees.
ROAR!
The Troll struggled, raising its tree-club to smash the annoying mosquito.
"Hey, Ugly!"
The Troll looked up.
Lux was in the air. He had used a tree branch to vault himself up.
He was falling, gravity aiding him, the glowing red scythe raised high.
"Reaper's Guillotine!" (He made the name up on the spot, but it felt right).
The red-hot blade met the grey stone neck.
HISSS-CRACK.
The heat softened the stone skin. The momentum did the rest.
The blade bit deep, slicing through rock, muscle, and bone.
The Troll froze.
Its head slowly slid off its shoulders.
The massive body crumbled into dust and light.
[Boss Defeated!]
[XP Gained: +1,000]
[Level Up! Level 8 -> Level 9]
[Rare Drop Detected: Troll's Regenerative Heart]
Lux landed in a crouch, breathing hard. The scythe cooled down, sizzling in the damp air.
"That," Lux stood up, adrenaline shaking his hands, "was awesome."
Elara walked over to the dust pile and picked up a pulsating green stone—the Heart.
She looked at Lux, her eyes glowing with intense pride... and hunger.
"You killed a D-Rank," she whispered. "My Master is strong."
She stepped closer, wiping a speck of troll dust from his cheek.
"Strong men..." she purred, pressing her body against his, "need to be rewarded."
Lux laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Later. First, let's see what that Tax Collector was carrying."
He knelt by the dead man and opened the leather satchel he was guarding.
Inside wasn't gold.
It was a letter. sealed with the Baron's wax.
Lux broke the seal and read it.
To the Guild Master,
The Greylock Exile is to be 'accidentally' removed within the month. If the wolves don't get him, ensure a bandit raid does. His existence complicates the inheritance.
- Baron K.
Lux's eyes narrowed. He crumpled the letter in his fist.
"So, it wasn't just my father. The local Baron wants me dead too."
He looked at Elara.
"Change of plans. We aren't just visiting the village tomorrow."
Lux smiled, cold and sharp.
"We're going to pay the Baron a visit."