The first thing I did after leaving the arena was pay my rent.
I found Madam Claire in her ground-floor apartment, knitting by a crackling hearth. She didn't look up.
"I have it," I said placing the coins on a table nearby.
"Have what?"
"The silver. One hundred in full."
She set down her knitting and counted each coin slowly, her eyes narrowing. "Where did you get this?"
"Does it matter?"
She stared at me for a long moment, then scooped the coins into her apron pocket and returned to her knitting. "You're paid through next month. Don't be late again."
"I won't."
I climbed the stairs to my room and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the ceiling. The memory of Thalia's lips almost touching mine played on a loop behind my eyelids.
"Rent's done," Lusty said. "Now the library at noon."
'Yeah, I know.'
---
A knock came an hour later. A palace servant handed me a folded note and left.
"Something came up. Evening instead. The gardens behind the palace. Sunset. Come alone. – T"
I read it twice.
"Evening?" Lusty said. "She pushed it back."
'She did.'
"What are you going to do with the whole day?"
I looked at my sword leaning against the wall. 'I'll head to the dungeon. I need to test what the system can do. And I need money.'
"You just paid rent."
'For next month. I have nothing after that.'
I strapped on my sword and headed out before Lusty could argue.
---
The dungeon entrance was exactly where I'd left it—a jagged hole in the side of a moss-covered hill, half-hidden by brambles. The purple glow was gone. But something lingered. A smell like ozone and old blood. A pressure in the air that made my skin prickle.
"The seal is broken," Lusty said, "but the energy remains. The monsters will be tougher."
'Good.'
I stepped inside but before I went deeper, I activated my stream.
The system's camera drone materialize. I hadn't seen it the first time when I activated it but now I saw it. It was invisible, hovering over my shoulder.
My viewer count appeared.
It had probably increased due to my public run in with the princess.
<(Current Viewers: 25>
The chat crawled across the edge of my sight.
>"This is the guy who grabbed my princess?"
>"F-rank in an F-rank dungeon. Riveting."
>"He's going to die to a goblin, watch."
I ignored them and walked deeper.
The first few chambers were familiar. Rough stone walls, slick with moisture, the steady drip of water echoing through the tunnels, my footsteps sounding louder than they should.
A pair of goblins slipped out from a side passage, their yellow eyes catching the dim light as they locked onto me.
I killed them both in under a minute.
The first lunged with a rusty dagger. I sidestepped and drove my blade into its throat. The steel sank in up to the hilt and hot blood sprayed across my hand. The goblin made a wet gurgling sound and collapsed.
The second tried to run. I grabbed its matted hair, yanked it back, and cut its neck in one smooth motion. It dropped beside its companion, twitching.
> "Okay, not bad."
> "Still F-rank tho"
> "That was actually kinda smooth"
I didn't feel lucky. I felt different. Sharper. Like someone had been practicing in my sleep.
"The system is enhancing you," Lusty said. "You're stronger than you were."
I wiped my blade and kept walking.
The corridor sloped downward. The air turned colder, heavy with moisture that clung to my skin. The torchlight from my belt crystal flickered against the uneven walls, casting shifting shadows that seemed to move on their own.
Somewhere deeper, water dripped in a slow rhythm that set my nerves on edge
Then the tunnel opened into a massive cavern.
The ceiling vanished into darkness, too high to see. Stalactites hung above like jagged teeth, their tips glistening with moisture.
An underground stream ran through the center of the chamber, its water black and still, reflecting nothing at all. The walls were slick with slime, and the air carried the stench of rotting meat.
And at the far end of the chamber, curled around a pile of bones, was the creature.
I recognized it immediately.
Red eyes. Dark fur. Too many legs.
The same beast that had nearly killed me last time.
It was bigger now. Its body had swollen, muscles bulging under its matted fur. Its eyes glowed brighter, pulsing with the same purple energy I'd seen in the crystal. When it breathed, a low rumble echoed through the cavern, vibrating in my chest like a second heartbeat.
'Had it gotten infected like me?' I thought grimly.
"Turn off the stream," Lusty said quietly.
'What? No. The viewers—'
"They'll get you killed. You need every ounce of focus. Turn it off."
I hesitated.
Then the creature raised its head. Its red eyes locked onto mine.
"NOW."
I thought Stream Off.
The viewer count vanished and the chat went dark.
The creature growled and lunged
I dodged left.
Claws tore across the stone where I'd been standing, sparks kicking up and stinging my cheeks as I rolled clear. I came up swinging, my blade catching its flank. The strike didn't go deep—just a shallow cut—but it was enough to draw a reaction.
The creature shrieked, a grating sound like metal tearing apart, and spun toward me with sudden, violent speed.
A leg caught me in the chest before I could move, lifted me off my feet and threw me backward. I hit the wall with a crunch that drove the air from my lungs. Something cracked in my ribs, a sharp pain that made stars burst behind my eyes.
"Get up!" Lusty screamed.
I tried but my leg wouldn't move. Pain flared through my side with every breath. Blood dripped into my left eye from a gash on my forehead, hot and sticky.
The creature stalked toward me. Its claws clicked against the stone as its crimson eyes burned.
I used Siren's Whisper.
The creature paused. Its head tilted. Confusion flickered across its face—the same confusion I'd seen last time. But only for a moment. Then it shook off the effect like water from a dog's back.
It lunged again.
This time, I couldn't dodge.
Its claws pinned me to the ground. One on my chest, pressing down until I couldn't breathe and the other on my sword arm, squeezing until I felt bones grind. Its mouth opened above me, revealing rows of teeth, each one as long as my finger. Saliva dripped onto my face, stinking of decay.
"This is it," Lusty said. "Push the energy outward. All of it."
'I can't—'
"Then you die. Right here. Right now. Your choice."
I closed my eyes.
I thought of the crystal, the purple smoke, the warmth in my chest. My parents. My aunt. Thalia's voice. Everything I hadn't done yet.
And I pushed.
The world exploded into light.
Pain tore through me as my body began to change. Bones stretched, joints snapped, muscles rippled and reformed beneath my skin. My spine arched sharply, forcing a gasp from my throat, and my jaw cracked before settling into something unfamiliar. Even my hair changed, strands falling across my face in a color that wasn't mine.
Through it all, power surged within me, flooding every part of my body.
It shouldn't have been possible. It hurt more than anything I had ever endured. And yet, I had never felt more alive.
When I opened my eyes, the creature was staring at me. Its claws were still on my chest, but they weren't pressing anymore. Its red eyes were wide with something I hadn't seen before.
Fear.
I grabbed its claws and threw them off me.
The creature flew across the chamber and slammed into the far wall as dust poured from the ceiling. The impact shook the ground beneath my feet, rippling through the stone
I stood up.
My leg was fine. My ribs were fine. Everything was fine.
There was a pool of water near my feet reflecting the faint glow of my belt crystal. I looked down.
Silver hair and violet eyes stared at me. A face that was mine, yet not mine. It was sharper and older in a way I couldn't explain—like a version of me that had lived through a thousand battles.
"Incubus Ascendant," Lusty whispered in awe. "You triggered it."
I stared at my reflection, unable to look away.
I turned back to the creature. It was struggling to rise. A smile found its way to my lips as I rushed towards it.
The fight didn't last long after that.
I was faster and stronger than I'd ever been. My sword felt like an extension of my arm. The creature swung its claws, but I wasn't there. It lunged, but I was already behind it. Every strike left a glowing wound that sizzled and smoked.
When I drove my blade through its skull, the purple energy in its eyes flickered and died.
It collapsed with a wet thud.
[D-rank creature defeated. Reward: 500 Power Stones, 1x Mana Crystal (Large), 1x Skill Scroll: ???]
[Skill Unlocked: Incubus Ascendant (F-rank) – Stabilized.]
[Transformation now controllable. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 2 hours.]
The transformation faded. My normal face returned. I collapsed to my knees, gasping.
"You did it," Lusty said.
'I almost died.'
"But you didn't. That's the point."
---
I limped out of the dungeon as the sun climbed toward noon.
The walk back to Valoria was slow. My leg ached. Blood had dried on my face, but I was alive.
My phone buzzed. I had gotten a message from Tristan.
"Dude, your stream cut out. You okay?"
Another buzz.
"Answer me. People are saying you died."
I leaned against a tree and typed back with shaking fingers.
"I'm fine. Stream glitched. Talk later."
"You sure? You look like hell."
"How do you know what I look like?"
"Because I was watching. Everyone was watching. Your stream went black and people started freaking out."
I stared at the screen.
"He was watching the stream earlier," Lusty said.
'Which is a surprise, considering he hasn't watched in weeks'
I typed back: "I'm not dead. Chill. Catch up soon."
"The Rusty Mug. Tonight. Don't bail man."
"I'll be there."
I slipped the phone into my pocket and kept walking.
The sun was still climbing. I had hours before sunset. Enough time to prepare for my second meeting with the princess.