LUCIUS
Would you believe me if I said I despise anything that holds me back? Even in the slightest?
Because that's the exact thought I had while reconsidering certain aspects of this mission. I'm all alone on this—and I prefer it that way. Always have. It's easier when the only person I need to worry about is me. No distractions. No weak links. And in a life-or-death situation... well, again—just me. Not the best way forward. I know that. But hey—no one's getting injured. No one's dying because of me. That's enough... right? No burdens, no responsibilities. That's what I want. That's what I've convinced myself... or at least what my logic keeps whispering.
As I walked toward the outskirts of the city I'd grown up in, I did contemplate whether I'd done the right thing a few times.
Every single fucking time, the answer I arrived at was the same—"Absolutely."
Edward told me to stay low, to not apply for any missions. And I intended to follow that advice... right up until Soni came in with the news.
That moment? That was when everything changed. That was when I saw the window.
An opportunity that could make my six-month exile period not just bearable—but valuable.
Right now, I only have a few Knightcrawler mana cores left. Soon, they'll be nothing more than shiny, empty husks—stripped clean after I absorb the last of their pure mana. Out of the 200 or so cores I extracted, more than half were sold to raise funds for the families of the fallen knights. The other half? Some were absorbed. Some sold. A few Strokedeer cores added to the pool.
Those multiple absorption cycles pushed me to the pinnacle of A-rank, but I'm still a few critical steps away from reaching A+.
And with no cores remaining and an inevitable six-month hiatus breathing down my neck, I couldn't ignore the offer Soni handed me: a chance to hunt down an injured, weakened S-ranked beast.
Why did I take it?
Simple.
An S-rank mana beast core takes months to fully absorb. And the more time I give it, the better the efficiency. Six months of uninterrupted rest means I'll be able to extract almost 90–100% of its raw, undiluted mana.
This isn't reckless—it's mathematical. A high-risk, high-reward move.
A well-calculated gamble that just might make me untouchable.
Now that I had crossed the outskirts, with the moon almost fully risen overhead, the nighttime made my movement easier. In front of me stretched the newly established forestline between the outer city and the Lunar Walls. A recent initiative—a second layer of protection.
Most citizens and even some of the Lunarknights see it as a waste of resources. They believe the Lunar Walls are unbreachable, eternal.
They're fools.
Nothing is eternal. And the future? The future has always been uncertain.
With the rise of corrupted beasts and instability across the Rims, I'd say planting this forest was one of the few smart moves the Empire has made in recent years.
"The Emperor really is a visionary..." I muttered under my breath.
The forest is unreal—each tree meticulously designed with reinforcement points, vantage spots, and natural camouflage. Perfect for knights to hide and ambush should the walls ever fall.
The trees are tall, dense, and sturdy. Mana flows through the roots like blood through veins, maintaining the balance and reinforcing their strength.
The design is... genius.
Even if the Lunarknights of Verdun scoff at it, this forest might be the first line of defense if the day ever comes when the walls can't hold.
It took me an hour and a half to cross the forest. While the mana presence here is minimal, I've long learned not to rely on appearances. Surprises have become an essential part of my life—and most of them try to kill me.
And now, I stood before the sacred walls.
They rose like monoliths in the night, bathed in soft lunar light, impossibly tall and impossibly still. Luna's own rays shimmered across the surface, making them glow with an eerie, divine presence.
Too tall to climb without mana reinforcement.
Too visible to scale without being spotted.
Yup—there's no way I can climb that wall with mana running through my veins.
I slowed my core circulation to its lowest functional rhythm. Then I killed it completely. Shut down all external flow, halting the rotation entirely.
But even without circulating mana, my senses stayed sharp—still reinforced.
A personal phenomenon I haven't figured out yet.
"Maybe what he said was actually true..." I whispered to myself. "That my connection to mana is... beyond our collective understanding."
Good for me, I guess.
From above the walls, visibility below is vague at best. Reinforced eyesight helps the stationed knights, but even they can't maintain perfect vision constantly. Their senses get fatigued. They switch shifts. They take breaks. And most importantly? They're forced to monitor a massive area.
That naturally creates blind spots.
Loopholes.
And that's exactly what I'm banking on to make my escape clean.
I crept forward, blending into the shadows. My body moved without resistance, carried by instinct and the rhythm of the wind. I let the forest behind me fall into silence, focusing only on the stretch of land ahead.
Within the hour, I stood barely a meter away from the base of the wall.
The moonlight painted everything in silver, but I kept my presence wrapped in nothingness. No mana. No heat. Just me and the cold ground.
The journey up to this point?
That was the easy part.
From here on out? One slip. One mistimed movement. One flicker of mana at the wrong moment—and I get caught.
No trial. No excuses.
Just prison. Underground. Shackled. Forgotten.
The kind of place that even screams get lost in the dark.
I inhaled slowly, feeling the pressure build in my chest.
The wind here doesn't howl—it whispers. A cold, hollow kind of quiet. Even the trees stand still now, as if they too understand what I'm about to do could shift the future in ways no one's prepared for.
The Lunar Walls gleam under the goddess's gaze—a monument to an empire I've never truly belonged to.
Let them sleep easy.
Let the Knights dream of peace.
They won't hear a thing—until it's far too late.
***
"Damn that Mercy... and my stupid self for sneaking up on him yesterday. That surprise of mine—which, if I'm being honest, was a pure show-off—forced Mercy to increase the patrols, adding more sensory-type knights for surveillance since the other knights witnessed my presence."
This same route I took yesterday was done in about two hours max. Today, three hours have already passed and I'm barely able to reach the centre point of these walls.
"They really outdid themselves with the construction of these walls. Like I swear, these walls and their creators practically scream 'we expect a calamity one day'—hence, they built around 150-meter-tall walls spanning over seven goddamn cities!" I thought under my breath, cursing both Mercy and the creators… and myself.
Not like I didn't think this through, though. I knew the physical labour I'll have to perform just to enter the rims before even agreeing on this mission, but damn! Without Mana to reinforce and assist, this rock-climbing session is tolling.
***
"Finally... I made it! I'm on top." My sore hands were heavily brushed with droplets of blood escaping, but who cares? The picture in front of me mattered more, as I expanded my mana-less senses, I understood the situation in front of me.
There were a few Lunarknights nearby, although most of them were slacking off, chit-chatting, playing chess, and some even dozing off. Thank the Almighty.
Initially, I thought the additional knights would pose another layer of challenges, but such a huge presence made them relaxed, laid-back, which, honestly, I don't blame them for. In fact, I'm thankful. This'll make my job much easier.
The platform was around 15–20 meters wide, and crossing it was easier than I'd expected. Since there were too many barrels, mana cannon supplies, and other stuff scattered around, it created various hiding spots. And with my circulation off, it became much easier to evade laid-back eyes and senses.
"Finally, I can see the Beast Rims!"
As I thought this, there were a few unusual movements around that I didn't quite understand—but oh well, who cares. I just have to wait here until...
BOOOM...!
That went of! There it goes—a small explosion, but loud. Just like children.
The knights, now alerted, were quick to act—and so was I.
Within a minute, they'll uncover that it was a simple mana bomb. Used primarily as a decoy. Outdated, cheap, and super inefficient—except for tonight.
The moment the knights shifted their focus and senses, I jumped.
Flying—an S-rank ability. Only those who've reached S-rank can fly, and even then, only for a few minutes initially. Then, for an hour or two, if they make it to SS-rank—knights or mages.
If I had the ability to fly, this escape would've been much easier and less time-consuming.
But I don't mind my current set of abilities—especially my Absolute Zero form.
A nickname I came up with while climbing the walls, which basically means I've got no mana inside me. At all.
The window of distraction that the explosion would cause will be less than 20 seconds. Fifteen by my calculations.
Therefore, I turned off Absolute Zero and used mana to accelerate my descent.
Falling from such a height always gave me a flying-type feeling. As if I'm soaring through the skies. A mere taste of the ability I'll unlock once my core breaks through its second-last layer.
Until then, this will suffice.
As I was about to touch the ground, I called on mana from my surroundings. The wind-infused mana was quick to react, slowing my descent easily. Since the summoned mana was plenty, as soon as I touched the rocky surface, I bolted towards the initial regions of the dense forest, one that's usually empty.
As I dashed forward, I again called onto the mana around me. The mana was quick to respond, yet again. But before it could enter my core, I used my internal mana reserves to create a simple spell called:
Mana Pulse.
Usually, whenever a knight or a mage is about to unleash a spell—for offence or defence—they utter the words "Mana Zone" before their actual spell, for some reason.
There are theories on why this improves things or helps with shaping and concentrating, but I don't know.
Unlike Sia, Sara, and Lavya, I cannot use any of these spells—except simpler mana projectiles like the standard arcs.
This shortcoming may be a side effect of having such an impressive connection to pure mana. Even casting simple arcs, which are standard, takes a toll on me—hence, I prefer a much more grounded approach.
Although my previous attempts were done when I was an actual B-ranked mage, I was hoping to learn some simple, efficient spells during these six months of resting period… until this mission approached me.
As I travelled at an incredible speed, I entered the initial sectors, where there were a few beasts present—but none of them approached or came in my way.
Most of the beasts here are docile and weak. Most adventurers ignore them, as they fetch pretty much nothing.
The real goodies lie in the middle sectors and the inner sectors.
The Valgura was spotted near the Ursa Sector, which is in the depths of the Outer Rim—around a hundred kilometres ahead of Ulta Sector, where I slaughtered those Knightcrawlers.
I did think of reasons why Sonic would enter such deep territories. He's at best a B-ranked, with a few crucial steps behind what it takes to get to B+ rank.
But there were no answers I could think of that would possibly explain why Sonic risked his neck to this extent.
"Maybe I'll ask him when I hand him over the corpse—if I give the same amount of shit about him by then."
Right now, my focus was on the beast that was unknowingly waiting for me.
The S-ranked calamity, Valgura.