The next morning, Lucien woke up with an odd craving.
He had dreamt of slaying monsters in the dungeon and he was showering in drops.
The thrill still lingered in his chest.
After breakfast, he asked Sebas to summon Aginav and Sinep. He’d promised them rewards the day before but had forgotten.
He was too absorbed in testing the new skill: BREED, which he obtained from Rodyart’s drop.
When the two arrived, Lucien imdiately noticed sothing unusual between them.
’So obvious,’ he thought. ’I used to think their nas were curses from their parents... but I guess they found love because of it.’
Lucien considered giving them the day off but with their current shortage of servants, he couldn’t afford it.
Instead, he handed each of them five gold coins and a generous helping of Honey Drops.
They hesitated, thinking it was too much but Lucien insisted.
"You stayed with us through the worst. This is the least I can do. I’m sorry I can’t give you ti off yet but if there’s anything else you need, just tell ."
Tears welled in their eyes.
Sinep stepped forward, his voice steady but soft.
"Young Lord, we’re always grateful. We didn’t stay for gold. We stayed to repay you. And..."
He glanced at Aginav who flushed bright red.
"I found the love of my life here. We want to build a future... in a place we can call ho."
Lucien chuckled warmly.
"That’s good. You can have one of the houses in the territory. I can’t give you days off yet but after working hours, you’re free to leave early. Go settle in. Start a family maybe hahaha!"
The two were imdiately flustered by Lucien’s words. They blushed furiously. To them, he was still just a child and soone too young to truly understand such matters...
But Lucien was completely serious.
He had a vision for his territory. A land built on loyalty, stability and roots that ran deep. He wanted his people to grow, to build families, to multiply... not to rely on an influx of outsiders.
Refugees and strangers brought instability and he feared that opening his gates too wide could lead to the sa disasters that had scarred his past.
After Aginav and Sinep thanked him and left with their hands still clutched with gold and honey, Lucien turned to Sebas to give him his due reward.
"Sebastian, thank you for always being by my side. This is for you."
He handed over ten gold coins plus Honey Drops and a Nectar Crystal.
Sebas placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.
"Young lord, this is my duty. I need no reward. And... it’s Sebas."
"Haha classic you. Still, take them. These things work wonders if you use them regularly."
Sebas said nothing more but accepted them.
He’d seen Lucien pull miracle after miracle from thin air. He knew better than to doubt him.
A rare smile crept across his face as if rembering soone from long ago.
"Ah, right! please take charge for the anti. I’ll be out for a while," Lucien said as he strapped on his sword, Ironbite.
Sebas watched him silently as he turned to leave.
He knew exactly where Lucien was headed... the dungeon. But this ti, he didn’t worry. Not anymore.
Because deep down, Sebas was convinced. Lucien had inherited "his" skill.
•••
Lucien dashed toward the dungeon.
This ti, he didn’t tire, not even a little. In fact, he arrived faster than before.
It didn’t take long for him to realize why.
His stamina had improved significantly.
’Must be the Honey Drops,’ he thought. He’d been popping them like candy whenever he had the chance.
Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about them running out. Thanks to the BREED skill, he could now raise bees and farm their drops endlessly.
Curious, Lucien opened the item description for the Honey once more.
Type: Consumable
Rarity: Common
Description: Improves health and stamina (Continuous consumption will yield long-term benefits)
Sure enough, the description wasn’t an exaggeration.
He felt fantastic and invigorated.
That ant one important thing. With higher health and stamina, he could use skills more frequently with far less strain on his body.
Before long, he reached the dungeon entrance.
Massive boulders still blocked the way just as they had before. Without hesitation, Lucien stored them in his inventory then placed them neatly to the side.
He descended the steps slowly while scanning his surroundings.
Then it ca into view... The glowing cavern.
Last ti, he didn’t have a mont to appreciate it. But now, as he took it in, he noticed sothing striking.
The lighting within the dungeon was gentle and ambient. The walls shimred softly with a glow that didn’t strain the eyes. The atmosphere was almost... serene.
He walked deeper into the cavern.
And after a few minutes, he finally encountered his first monster.
It was...
"...A sli?"
A blue, bouncing blob stood in his path. It is wobbly and harmless-looking.
"Seriously? Slis are the weakest monsters in every ga. Is this the tutorial zone or sothing?" he joked.
He drew Ironbite, adopted a stance and lunged.
His blade sliced clean through the creature...
...but it didn’t die.
"Eh?"
The sli’s sliced halves simply wobbled... and reconnected.
The sli finally noticed Lucien. It began bouncing with greater urgency.
Lucien didn’t hesitate. He struck again.
And again.
And again.
But no matter how many tis his blade sliced through the gelatinous creature, it refused to die.
Each cut simply nded itself. The goo reconnects like nothing had happened.
To make matters worse, the sli had grown wary. It began dodging and wobbling side to side with surprising agility.
"Oh co on! If this were a ga, your HP should be zero by now!"
Realizing brute force wasn’t working, he activated a skill.
"SCAN"
***
Sli
Level: 2
Weakness: Mana Core
***
"Right, slis usually have a core!"
Suddenly, the agitated sli fired a blob of goo.
Caught off guard, Lucien took the hit squarely.
It didn’t hurt him. But the sensation was awful.
The sli’s attack left a thick and sticky residue on his skin, clinging to him like wet glue.
Disgust hit him first.
Then discomfort.
His movents slowed and bogged down by the goo.
"Ugh... nasty." He muttered while shaking his arm.
Still, the encounter gave him insight. The sli couldn’t deal actual damage to him but he couldn’t kill it either until he located its mana core. And worse, the sli seems capable of moving the mana core freely within its body.
Lucien narrowed his eyes with his frustration bubbling up.
"Seriously? Shouldn’t slis be transparent or sothing?"
Lucien decided to try a different approach.
He sheathed his sword then lunged forward... tackling the sli head-on.
With both arms wrapped around the squirming blob, he held it in place and threw a solid punch. But...
His fist bounced right off. The sli’s body absorbed the impact with ease.
’Blunt attacks won’t work either,’ he realized.
Out of options, he gritted his teeth and plunged his hand straight into the creature’s gooey mass.
The sensation was revolting.
Warm.
Wet.
Squishy.
It took everything in him not to recoil. But he pushed through, feeling around for sothing solid.
Then... his fingers brushed against it. A small and hard object was inside.
Without hesitation, he yanked his hand back, gripping the sli’s mana core.
The sli shuddered and collapsed with a soft flop the mont the core left its body.
Finally, it was over.
He had defeated it.
The sli’s body began to glow then.... in an instant, it vanished. All that remained was the mana core still resting in Lucien’s hand and a drop.
In dungeons, this was normal. Monsters always disappeared upon death, leaving only their mana cores behind.
Over ti, many theories had erged to explain the phenonon. The most popular one claid that the dungeon absorbed the bodies and use them as fuel to sustain itself. No one really knew the truth but most had co to accept it.
Lucien didn’t care either way.
As long as he got the drops, he was satisfied.
He glanced down as his eyes lit up, spotting a familiar gray cube lying nearby.
He snatched it up, curious to see what kind of reward he’d earned from such an annoyingly resilient opponent.
"Eh."
He blinked. And checked again.
Lucien stared at the item in disbelief.
A sli plushie.
He held his head, fighting the urge to scream.
’Seriously? After all that trouble, that gooey nace dropped a toy?’
Frustration boiled over. With a scowl, Lucien stord out of the dungeon.
"This isn’t over."
He swore he’d return... and when he did, he’d massacre every last sli in the place.
"The next ti I return, you won’t be so lucky. Kukuku"
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