Chương 541: Becoming the... Abyss King

.. Abyss King Henry stood at the edge of the abyss, staring into the void. Somewhere down there, hidden in the darkness, was the concealed temple that held the legacy of the Demon Blacksmith. A rope hung beside him, the same one his group had left behind to ease their climb.

"I need updates. Give me the report," he said as he approached one of his men stationed at the makeshift camp on the cliffside.

"No movement near the group down below. It's safe to descend," the soldier answered. Henry narrowed his eyes.

"Send someone down to make sure. I'll be going in a few hours." They had spent weeks preparing. Cassandra and Miles's war had finally erupted, and Henry had been forced to leave most of his team helping the baron. He himself had joined the fight for a while, but eventually the tide turned enough that he was no longer needed. Victory was almost guaranteed. His focus remained fixed on the abyss. Hours later, Henry descended the rope and reached the base they had established deep below.

The rules were simple: no torches, no fires, no unnecessary noise. The soldiers believed it was to avoid attracting monsters. Henry simply didn't want to alert the vampire he was hunting. He slipped through the forest, shadows thick around him. Soldiers were hidden among the trees.

"Still nothing, sir," one whispered. Henry climbed a tree and raised a crossbow equipped with a long-range scope. All he saw at first was darkness. He activated a skill to sharpen his night vision, and the world formed faint outlines. He scanned every soldier in the area. Henry knew a bit about vampires. Years ago, in one of the Lawless Cities he and his group had survived, they'd heard of a vampire that took countless attempts to capture. He had learned how to be careful.

The vampire Charlie had every advantage in the dark, seeing as clearly as if it were daylight. Henry was strong, sure, but hunting her in pitch blackness was practically suicide. And she wasn't just fast or stealthy. She had teleportation, which he discovered while examining the reconstruction of the murders she'd committed. Add to that her extreme regeneration and her group's support, which included a woman who could fly, and the situation became worse.

Henry might be a Rank E at level 70, but hunting that vampire alone was already a challenge. Facing her with her allies nearby was a guaranteed death sentence. So he planned a trap. First, he focused on finding their location quietly and alone. He discovered they were inside the temple. After that, Henry never returned to the site. His scent could linger. Too risky. Even with a special preparation that masked his smell, he didn't go back. Since then he'd been forced to assist the baron in the war.

Meanwhile, his men stationed here were never attacked, meaning Charlie's group hadn't passed through this area. Unless those bastards left the abyss through some other path. One of them had wings. They might have carried another out. Henry would keep searching. Flammable oil, fire, and removing the head. That's how he'd kill the vampire. A sharpened card thrown at high speed through the skull was also an option. But Henry wanted Charlie to suffer for killing Dolores.

A card to the brain might end things too fast, or worse, fail to kill her and give him time to burn her alive. Dismembering her, dragging the pieces out of this dimension into direct sunlight, that was another appealing plan. Let her wither without blood.

Luke's Spectral Beast was a drifting mass of black smoke with two bright white eyes and a wide, permanent grin. It was always smiling. Dark as midnight, hazy like a half-formed wraith, yet unlike his own Wraith Form, this creature could actually touch the world. A true spectral monster.

"What is that thing, human?" Franky asked, eyeing it with suspicion.

"My new battle partner." A thin black tether connected Luke's abdomen to the beast's. He could direct it with thought alone, like a puppet on an invisible string, though it also had an autonomous mode. Despite its smoky form, it carried weight, substance; it wasn't just illusion. Franky clicked his tongue.

"This rat is just one of your skills. Not a real creature."

"Correct." Luke held up the core.

"Why does this core work for that thing?"

"You'll see." He tossed the Abyss King's core to the grinning wraith-beast. It snatched the core in its mouth, and Luke opened his interface. Core: Spectral Beast Rank: F Rank E Cores: [0/100] Core Skill: [Form Devourer] The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Beast Skills: Form Devourer: (No Assimilated Beast) He skimmed the description: [Form Devourer]: By consuming the core of a magical beast, the Spectral Beast assimilates its essence directly through its own core.

The absorbed power is fully integrated, causing the beast to abandon its previous form and assume the shape of the creature whose core was devoured. The transformation is complete and total, reflecting the nature, primary skills, and elemental affinity of the consumed creature. Stability of the transformation depends on elemental compatibility; mismatched cores may result in failure or instability during assimilation.

Every Spectral Beast was born with a single inborn Core Skill, something shaped by its master's soul, emotions, fears, and the ingredients used during its creation. Luke's beast had inherited its concept from Sariel's Eye, which had wielded the [Skill Rank Devourer].

"My beast is a predator…" Luke murmured, pleased. A creature that could hunt others and become them. A shapeless monster taking whatever form it consumed. The Spectral Beast bit through the Abyss King's core and swallowed it. A gleam of green energy traveled down its throat toward its belly—then the beast dissolved into smoke and was drawn back into Luke's body through the tether. He felt his own beast core churn violently, absorbing the Abyss King's power.

"What just happened?" Franky asked. Something far stranger happened inside Luke's mind. In an instant he awoke again in the tutorial capital, inside the mental realm of his Spectral Beast. He was in control of himself there just as clearly as he was walking beside Franky in the real world. Back in the trial to dominate the Spectral Beast, he realized. And this time, the opponent… He found the Abyss King waiting for him, fully awake and furious.

"I'm having to assimilate the beast inside the core," he explained to Franky. The odd part was that he remained fully conscious both outside and within his soul. He strolled through the cavern with Franky while simultaneously battling the enraged serpent in the inner world. If I lose this fight, whatever happens won't be pleasant.

"You really did get much stronger, human," Franky admitted quietly, staring at the dead Abyss King.

"I have to… admit that."

"I was just smarter. I started by hitting the creature while it was off guard," Luke replied.

"And I burned every drop of mana I had. I'm nearly out of stamina too."

"Seriously? And what if something dangerous shows up right now?"

"There's a very good chance I'll die." Luke said it calmly. He'd taken the opportunity when it appeared, but he knew the truth: if two Abyss Kings had been there, he'd be dead. If even one had dodged those first explosive hits, he would've been forced to retreat or die on the spot.

"The world runs on opportunities," he murmured to himself, smirking inwardly while battling the serpent inside his soul.

Luke and Franky explored every corner they could reach in that cave. The remaining serpents had already slithered off through the maze of tunnels. With no better option, Luke returned to the corpse of the massive serpent. He needed to focus on killing the Abyss King inside his soul while simultaneously restoring mana and stamina in the physical world. He'd uncovered some interesting truths. It wasn't just a physical clash but a contest of willpower.

And inside his soul, both he and the creature had infinite mana to burn, meaning neither side was holding back. On the outside, though, he smiled as he scrolled through his level 75 Demonic Predator skills. [Stealth Critical Strike (Rare)]: The first hit of an Assassin is often the deadliest, especially when the target never sees it coming. This skill transforms the first blade attack against an unsuspecting enemy into a critical strike, dramatically boosting its power.

Works for close-range ambushes as well as precision knife throws at long distances. If I'd had this earlier, the fight with the giant serpent might have ended a lot faster. He imagined the synergy between his throwing skills and this new stealth attack. And it even mentions Assassin. A skill from the most basic tier of my class. Still incredibly useful. He built a small fire and shared chunks of serpent meat with Franky.

"How does it feel, devouring something from your own species?" Luke asked.

"I'm not a pretty snake anymore, and snakes eat other snakes," the wyvern hatchling replied while chewing. Fair enough. After they finished eating, Luke settled into a meditative posture, focusing solely on the internal struggle against the Abyss King. During the fight he had realized the goal wasn't to kill the beast, but to subjugate it. While engaged in that spiritual battle, he opened the level 45 skill options from the Witch class. It was the final skill he would choose before evolving the class.

A long list displayed everything he had rejected, and only one new skill stood out. Luke hesitated between an older pick and the newly revealed one. The old option: [Pentagram of Shield I (Rare)]: The witch conjures a translucent pentagram-shaped barrier, condensing mana into a magical shield capable of repelling low-powered attacks. Physical projectiles and weaker spells are deflected by an invisible force, ricocheting at unpredictable angles.

The barrier lasts only a moment, giving the witch a brief window to counterattack. He'd discarded that one in the past in favor of [Telekinetic Impulse]. But the new option was dangerously tempting. [Shadow Mana Explosion (Ultra-Rare)]: The witch's mastery over mana turns lethally volatile. By infusing and concentrating shadow mana into a blade, the witch manipulates the unstable energy with precise control, charging the attack.

The moment the blade strikes a target or surface, the stored mana detonates in a violent burst, unleashing destructive shadow force. The longer the charge time, the greater the cost and the more devastating the explosion. Gains minor bonuses from Intelligence, Dexterity, and Willpower. There was no comparison. One was defense. The other… pure destructive force. Using [Mana Infusion], he had killed the Beast Lord, the Midnight King, and even the enormous serpent lying beside him.

Now his Witch skill had the potential to make him absurdly powerful. [You have acquired the Second Class Skill: Shadow Mana Explosion] He smiled. The combination of Assassin skills with Witch skills was perfect.

After three days of nonstop meditation, he finally broke the Abyss King's will inside his soul. The creature had fallen to him at last. Focused and steady, he found himself once more standing in the illusion of the tutorial's capital, high atop the fortress of the third mechanism, staring down at the defeated serpent sprawled below. It hadn't been just a clash of strength; it was a battle of wills, of resolve. I won. Luke rose from the ground in the physical world with a quiet smile and summoned his Spectral Beast.

The smoky, formless haze was gone. In its place coiled a massive serpent identical to the Abyss King itself. [The Spectral Beast is awakening the Abyss King's skills…]