Chapter 44: Spiteful Awakening

The first thing Luvian saw when he opened his eyes was white.

A white ceiling.

White curtains.

White walls.

The faint glow of expensive medical equipment.

For several seconds, he simply stared upward.

Then he tried to move.

Pain shot through his body.

His fingers tightened around the sheets.

"...Damn it."

His voice was hoarse.

He slowly turned his head.

The room was enormous.

Though, calling it a hospital room almost felt insulting.

It was closer to a luxury hotel suite.

A large television was mounted on the wall. A private bathroom sat behind a sliding door. Expensive furniture filled the corners, and a massive window overlooked the city several floors below.

The medical equipment around his bed was state-of-the-art.

Of course it was.

This hospital belonged to his family.

Or rather...

It had belonged to his father.

Luvian closed his eyes.

The memories returned.

The campus.

Eden.

The fight.

His body burning from the inside.

The feeling of Flame Heart consuming his own Essence.

The crimson dragon.

Then nothing.

His jaw tightened.

"...I actually lost?"

The words tasted horrible.

A quiet knock came from the door.

Luvian didn’t answer.

The door opened anyway.

One of his father’s servants entered.

The middle-aged man wore a perfectly pressed suit, his expression carefully neutral.

"Young Master."

Luvian glanced at him.

"How long?"

"Several weeks."

"...shit."

"Your physical injuries had mostly stabilized much earlier. However, the strain caused by the activation of Flame Heart significantly delayed your recovery."

Luvian looked down at his hands.

His fingers trembled slightly.

His body had survived.

Barely.

Using an SS-Rank skill while only being D-Rank had been reckless.

He knew that.

He had always known that.

But he’d been convinced that the power would be enough.

That it would overwhelm someone as insignificant as Eden.

That he’d finally show everyone the difference between them.

Instead...

Eden had beaten him.

Not only beaten him.

Humiliated him.

Luvian’s fingers curled into fists.

"What about my father?"

The servant was silent for a moment.

Then he lowered his head.

"Your father has been arrested."

’...!’

Luvian’s eyes narrowed.

"For how long?"

"He has received a life sentence."

’What?’

"...For what?"

"An assassination attempt against Eden. The involvement of mercenaries and illegal ties to rogues."

Luvian stared at the ceiling.

For a moment, he thought he felt something.

Perhaps he was merely suffering the aftershocks of the battle.

He had known his father would eventually face consequences.

And honestly, he couldn’t say he was surprised.

"Anything else?"

"The Association has seized a portion of his assets."

Luvian’s eyes narrowed.

"Only a portion?"

"The legal proceedings have not yet concluded regarding all of them."

"And me?"

The servant hesitated.

"You are the legal heir."

Luvian slowly turned his head.

"The estate?"

"Yes."

"The companies?"

"Those as well."

"The properties?"

"Most of them."

Luvian stared silently.

His father had spent his entire life preparing him to inherit everything.

Not because he loved him.

Luvian knew better than that.

To his father, Luvian had never really been a son.

He had been an extension.

A vessel for the family’s name.

A future S-Rank.

A tool.

Something to polish until it reflected his father’s greatness.

Luvian had understood that for years.

So his father’s imprisonment didn’t hurt as much as it probably should have.

If anything...

It was almost freeing.

"Leave."

The servant bowed.

"Of course, Young Master."

He turned toward the door.

"Ah, I forgot to ask..."

"Is there anything on my schedule?"

The servant stopped.

"Your father had me arrange a press conference for you to defend the family name."

Luvian looked toward the window.

"Cancel it."

"Cancel my entire schedule."

"Young master, are you—"

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

"Understood."

Luvian closed his eyes.

The room became silent.

Luvian’s teeth clenched.

He remembered standing in front of everyone.

He remembered telling Eden that he should know his place.

He remembered offering him wealth.

Honor.

A position in his future guild.

He remembered believing that Eden would eventually have no choice but to acknowledge him.

And then...

He remembered being on the ground.

Bloodied.

Broken.

Defeated.

Luvian slowly sat up.

Pain shot through his ribs.

He ignored it.

"Enjoy your victory while you can,"

His eyes hardened.

"Eden."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed.

The servant had barely left the room when Luvian stood.

His legs shook.

His Essence was still unstable.

His muscles still screamed at him.

But none of that mattered.

He had lost because his body couldn’t handle Flame Heart.

That was the truth.

He hadn’t lacked power.

He had lacked the body to wield it.

Luvian looked at himself in the mirror across the room.

He looked weak.

Small.

Pathetic.

He hated it.

He grabbed the edge of the table.

"I’m going to fix that."

His reflection stared back at him.

"I’ll make my body strong enough."

He would train.

He would push his body until it adapted.

Until the pain became irrelevant.

Until Flame Heart stopped tearing him apart.

Until Eden couldn’t look down on him anymore.

The Awakened Tryouts were coming.

Luvian would be there.

And next time...

He wouldn’t just defeat Eden.

He would humiliate him the same way he believes Eden humiliated him.

---

Several days later...

"Again!"

Lucy’s voice echoed through the dungeon.

She raised both hands.

Pink Essence exploded outward.

The Abyss Creature in front of her barely had time to react.

Lucy brought her fist forward.

[Quick Charge]

The Essence around her arm condensed instantly.

[Essence Accelerator]

"V4!"

The amount of pink Essence surrounding her fist multiplied.

The air itself seemed to distort.

Sonne’s eyes widened.

"Lucy, wait—"

Too late.

Lucy punched.

Boom!

The explosion ripped through the dungeon.

The abyss creature disappeared beneath a storm of pink Essence.

A shockwave tore through the surrounding corridor.

Sonne raised an arm to shield her face.

When the dust settled, nothing remained of the creature.

Lucy stood in the middle of the crater.

Her hair was blown backward.

She stared at her own fist.

"...That was awesome."

Sonne slowly lowered her arm.

"You almost blew the entire dungeon apart."

"Sorry about that—"

"Why are you trying to grow strong so desperately? You’re already a beast."

Lucy grinned.

"There’s someone I want to surpass at the tryouts."

’Hopeless thing. She’s just like me.’

"Well just don’t be reckless then."

Sonne sighed.

Despite herself, she was smiling.

The past few days had gone surprisingly well.

They had started with D-Rank Gates.

Then C-Rank.

And now they were clearing them together with increasing efficiency.

Sonne handled control.

Her ice could slow entire groups of enemies.

Lucy handled burst damage.

Together, they covered each other’s weaknesses.

But Lucy had changed more than either of them expected.

She had awakened something new.

A skill that perfectly complemented her existing fighting style.

[Essence Accelerator.]

An SS-Rank skill.

It allowed her to multiply the Essence she outputs.

V2.

V4.

V6.

V8.

V10.

V12.

And beyond.

In theory, there was almost no practical ceiling.

In practice...

Lucy’s body had one.

Right now, V4 was her limit.

Anything higher caused too much strain.

But even V4 was absurd.

Sonne had seen it firsthand.

Lucy charged her fist.

The pink Essence condensed.

Then multiplied.

The difference between normal Essence and V4 was enormous.

It wasn’t simply more energy.

It was compressed power.

Explosive force.

The kind of attack that could turn a single punch into a miniature artillery strike.

And Lucy was learning to use it.

Quick Charge made the process even more dangerous.

Instead of spending several seconds gathering Essence, she could instantly prepare a massive attack.

Sonne looked at the crater.

The combination of such seemingly simple skills made her a terrifying beast to face.

Sonne wasn’t even certain if she could take Lucy on at this point.

"You’re getting stronger."

Lucy smiled.

"So are you."

Sonne nodded.

She had reached the top C-Rank.

Neither of them was advancing as quickly as Eden.

That was impossible.

Eden was an anomaly.

But they were progressing.

And for Sonne, that mattered.

She had watched Eden during the mercenary incident.

She knew she was still stronger than him during that fight, but something about him had made her feel like he’s slowly surpassing her.

As though Eden would leave her behind if she couldn’t compete with him.

She didn’t like it.

Sonne raised her hand.

Ice formed around her fingers.

"Next Gate?"

Lucy smiled.

"Next Gate."

Sonne sighed.

"You really enjoy this."

"A little."

"You’re weird."

"You’ve been raiding illegal Gates with me for days."

Sonne froze.

"...Don’t remind me."