In the heart of the Academy's grand combat arena, Lucas stood motionless before the Fallen Dark Wolf.
His greatsword rested feather-light in his grip, the massive blade now an effortless extension of his body after the surge of power from his recent rank-up. The once-heavy weapon felt alive, eager, almost weightless in his hands.
The world had vanished around him.
He could hear nothing. His eyes saw only the colossal, broken form of the beast lying at his feet, its dark fur matted and still.
This was not a kill.
It felt like breaking chains.
The heavy, rusted chains that had bound him for so long — the suffocating weight of society's mockery, his own crippling weakness, the gnawing desperation that had haunted every step of his life — finally shattered.
For one crystalline, breathtaking second, Lucas tasted pure liberation.
Students stared, mouths open. Damien Blackthorn was the first to recover, shouting angrily, "He cheated!"
Others quickly joined in, murmuring accusations. "The fight was already stopped!"
"That was unnecessary!"
"He just wanted the kill credit!"
Seraphina raised a hand, and the hall fell quiet again. She walked forward slowly, heels clicking, her devastating figure drawing every eye, even in this moment.
She stopped in front of Lucas, who was breathing heavily on one knee, greatsword planted in the ground for support.
"Why did you do it?" she asked, voice calm but sharp. "I clearly said that was enough."
Lucas pushed himself up with visible effort, blood and sweat mixing on his face. He met her gaze without flinching.
"I didn't hear that," he answered honestly. "When I saw the opening… my body moved before I could think."
Seraphina studied his eyes for a long second, searching for any lie. Then she smiled — a small, genuine curve of approval.
"There won't be a next time, Student Lucas." Her tone carried a clear warning, but also unmistakable approval. "And since you killed it… the corpse is yours now. Sell it, grill it, or hang it in your dormitory. Your choice."
Lucas's eyes flashed with satisfaction. Damn… it really worked.
He reached into his spatial ring, pulled out a recovery potion, and downed it in one gulp. The liquid burned down his throat, spreading warm relief through his exhausted muscles. The bone-deep fatigue eased almost instantly.
Vivienne wiped sweat from her brow and nodded at him with clear appreciation. Yuna's rose-pink eyes sparkled with something between awe and quiet intensity.
The mockery from earlier slowly died down. The tension in the hall shifted. Students who had been whispering against Lucas now kept their distance, glancing at him with a mix of fear and respect.
He thought about why he had held back his abilities during the fight. Vivienne had been testing him — probing to see what he was truly capable of. He had deliberately avoided using his class skills, refusing to reveal his full hand so early. When she had finally dropped the act and stopped holding back, Lucas had seized the tiny opening. It was a gamble, but he had needed that monster's corpse. He couldn't experiment on student bodies, and this was the only way to test his other abilities without drawing too much attention.
He had won the corpse, but the cost was clear.
The real difference between him and the other heirs wasn't just technique or raw talent.
It was temperament.
While many battles had been stopped early by Seraphina to prevent injury, some students clearly hadn't needed her intervention.
Damien Blackthorn was one of them.
His opponent had been a Silver Bull — an early D-rank monster with exceptionally high defense, its hide like living steel. Lucas had expected it to be a tough challenge.
He was wrong.
Damien fought like a force of nature. His team didn't even move. They simply stood back and watched as Damien dismantled the bull in under five minutes. His fists, wrapped in dark energy, hammered into the creature's reinforced hide with devastating power. Each punch landed with a deafening BOOM, cracking the bull's armor and sending shockwaves through the arena. The beast bellowed in pain, but Damien never gave it a chance to counter. He was pure domination — brutal, relentless, and completely in control.
When the Silver Bull finally collapsed, its skull shattered and body broken, Damien stood over it without a single drop of sweat on his face.
The hall had gone quiet.
And then there was Chloe Bennett.
Lucas had expected Alex to dominate his fight, but it wasn't Alex who moved.
It was Chloe.
Her opponent was a Fire Fox — a nimble, flame-wreathed beast known for its speed and scorching attacks. Chloe moved like a delicate wind. The fox's fire never touched her. She danced through its flames with effortless grace, her rapier flashing like silver lightning. Before the creature could even react, she beheaded it in one clean, elegant stroke. The fox's body hit the ground with a soft thud, flames dying instantly.
Chloe stepped back, not even breathing hard.
Lucas clenched his fists inside his pockets until his knuckles turned white.
He knew he couldn't compare to them yet. They were called geniuses for a reason. Their performance was on another level entirely.
Seraphina clapped her hands once, the sound cutting through the hall like a command.
"Well done," she said, her voice warm yet carrying that unmistakable edge. "Though it was a bit boring with common monsters, let's meet again at the next class."
The session ended.
Students began to disperse, still buzzing with excitement and shock. The difference in power levels had been laid bare for everyone to see.
Lucas walked back toward his private penthouse dorm in the Apex tower, Yuna trailing quietly at his side. The weight of the afternoon's combat session still clung to him like a second skin. He kept replaying the fight in his mind — the gap between him and the others had been far wider than he'd anticipated.
Although I knew the path wouldn't be easy, I didn't expect the difference to be this vast… His thoughts darkened. And that bastard Mike… the one who used to follow me around back in the day like a stray dog.
His face twisted with barely contained fury.
Yuna glanced at him, her rose-pink eyes narrowing slightly. "What made you so riled up all of a sudden?"
Lucas exhaled sharply, forcing his expression back to neutral. "Forget about it. So… how was your first day?"
Yuna's lips pressed into a thin line. "As bloody as it could be. If not for the new bloodline coursing through my veins, today would have been a disaster for me."
They reached the private elevator that led directly to Lucas's reserved top-floor penthouse. The doors opened to reveal the same breathtaking luxury as before — black marble floors veined with silver, floating sofas, and the panoramic view of the university grounds and Seoul skyline beyond.
Lucas shrugged off his jacket the moment they stepped inside, tossing it carelessly onto a nearby chair. He loosened the top buttons of his shirt, revealing the hard lines of his sweat-dampened chest, then headed straight for the private bathroom without another word.
Yuna sank onto the wide sofa, the soft cushions swallowing her transformed figure. She still felt the strange new power humming beneath her skin, the succubus bloodline making every sensation sharper, more intense.
In the bathroom, Lucas closed the door behind him and leaned against the sink for a moment. He pulled the Dark Wolf corpse out of his spatial ring. Even in death, dark energy lingered around the massive body, faint shadows curling lazily from its wounds. The creature lay sprawled across the tiled floor, its size barely fitting in the spacious room.
Lucas sat on the edge of the large, elevated bathtub, staring at the corpse.
Should I devour it… or try to summon a daemon or devil?
This was his first real decision with his new class. He didn't know which path would benefit him more in the long run.
Before he could decide, the system interface suddenly opened on its own.
Class Quest:
First OfferingObjective: Complete your first sacrifice. Devour the corpse for its traits and EXP, or offer it to the abyss to summon a servant.
Rewards:
Devour: Choose one skill or ability from the Dark Wolf + significant EXP.
Offer: Receive a personal subspace for storing and maintaining summons + a bound servant.
Penalty for refusal: None (optional quest).
Lucas's breathing quickened. The choice was clear.
He chose to summon.
"[Legion of the Bound King]."
A black abyssal gate tore open on the floor beneath the wolf's corpse. Burning black chains shot upward, wrapping around the body and dragging it down into the swirling darkness with a wet, sickening THUD.
For a split second, before the gate closed, Lucas felt something enormous watching him — a single, massive eye that seemed to pierce straight through reality itself. His feet instinctively stepped back, breath catching in his throat.
The gate snapped shut.
The presence vanished.
Immediately, his mana began to drain at an alarming rate. What started as a slow trickle quickly became a raging torrent. Lucas's vast Mythic-class reserves — already far larger than most — were being devoured at terrifying speed. He clutched his chest, teeth gritted.
Fuck… I didn't expect a single D-rank sacrifice to cost this much mana.
Just when he thought he might collapse, the drain finally stopped. Only about 10% of his mana remained.
A dark magic circle bloomed on the floor. Shadows wove together like living threads, coalescing into a small, three-foot-tall entity.
It looked like a living shadow — completely covered in darkness, with only two glowing silver eyes visible. The creature stood barely at Lucas's chest height.
Lucas blinked.
"What the hell is this little shit…? Where's my terrifying or seductive devil?"
The shadow entity knelt immediately, its mental voice echoing directly inside Lucas's mind — low, nervous, and strangely child-like.
"I pledge to serve the Heir of the Abyss until my existence is destroyed."
A system window appeared:
Imp of Whispers (D-rank Lesser Devil)
Abilities:
Whispers of Desire – Can manipulate targets by planting subtle desires and thoughts, making them believe the ideas are their own.
Amplify Doubt – Heightens insecurities, fears, and weaknesses in the target's mind.
Undetectable – Only those two or more ranks above it, or those with strong soul/spirit classes or bloodlines, can detect its influence.
Lucas closed his mouth, then burst into loud, maniacal laughter.
"Just what I needed…"
The little imp tilted its head curiously, its silver eyes blinking in confusion at its new master's sudden outburst.
The quest completed with a soft chime, and a new subspace reward appeared in his inventory — a personal storage realm for maintaining and summoning his future servants.
Lucas wiped the sweat from his brow, still grinning.
"It's about time we should start the fun."
He opened his bracelet's communication feature and sent a single message to Sophia — Alex's personal maid.
"Come to my place."