Accumulation To Kill

Lucas felt a wave of bitterness as memories of his traumatic past resurfaced. A sharp headache pounded in his skull as voices echoed around him.

"Finally awake?" A grumpy voice resounded in his head.

Opening his eyes, he was met with the beautiful yet annoyed visage of a silver-haired girl staring down at him.

He groaned, struggling to sit up. "If you smiled at more patients, maybe you'd be less repulsive."

"If you kept your mouth shut, maybe I'd have given you free treatment," Sylvia shot back wittily.

Lucas's eyes widened as he rummaged through his pockets—empty. "You stole my loot, you four-eyed elf!" he barked in anger.

"And you wasted three of my healing pills with your reckless training. We're even," Sylvia retorted, flashing a small bottle of medicine, its contents noticeably depleted.

'Crap.' Lucas realized his mistake. While monster cores were valuable, three healing pills were worth far more than a dozen of them.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rising to his feet.

"You're welcome. Now stay out of the training grounds for a few days, idiot," Sylvia said, her lips curling into a barely noticeable smile.

(...)

"What? Did you finally go numb in the head from all those injuries?" Sylvia spoke, breaking the eerie silence in the small cabin.

Before she could turn around, a gust of wind whooshed past her as the cabin door flew open—Lucas had dashed outside.

'What's got him so energetic?' she wondered.

Training Grounds

A sharp wind blade cut through the air, landing just 40 meters from a metal target.

A triumphant cry echoed across the vast field.

Lucas crouched on the ground, his face moist with tears.

(Lucas Limeol, Congratulations on establishing a Life Bound Contract.)

(Initiating Protocol: Energy Conversion, Attribute Enhancement.)

(Work hard.)

'Finally… There's hope. There's light for me.' An indescribable emotion surged within him. His efforts had been acknowledged. His prayers answered. His hope reignited.

A futuristic yet minimalistic display materialized before him, containing sparse but crucial information:

[Name: Lucas Limeol]

[Age: 17]

[Talent: Slaughter]

[Mana Capacity: 13] – Upgradable

[Mana Density: 2] – Upgradable

[Mana Quality: Diluted] – Upgradable

[Spells: Severing Wind (Basic Understanding, 74%)] – Upgradable

[Slaughter Points: 14.6]

At first, he thought he had lost his mind, his sanity crumbling under his relentless nightmares. But when he pressed the upgrade button for Severing Wind, something miraculous occurred.

A rush of knowledge flooded his mind—memories of arduous training, experiences he had never lived, but ones that felt deeply ingrained in his muscles.

His mastery soared from 64% to 74%, consuming one Slaughter Point.

Still skeptical, he sprinted to the training grounds to test it.

And indeed, his Severing Wind, which previously only reached 50 meters, now covered an additional dozen meters. Its lethality had also increased.

But what shocked him even more was that these Slaughter Points could enhance his core stats.

Mana Capacity determined how much mana he could store. Mana Density governed its strength. Mana Quality influenced its purity.

However… his Mana Density was pathetically low. Two? Even without a reference, that number was obviously terrible.

With a hint of hesitation, he selected the upgrade for Mana Quality.

[Mana Quality: Low] – Upgradable

"Severing Wind!" Lucas chanted, his eyes ablaze with renewed determination.

The wind blade shot forward, faster than ever before, slicing a shallow groove into the ground before dispersing.

A rush of joy overtook him. While the range had remained the same, its speed and power had improved significantly.

Without hesitation, he spammed the upgrade button for Severing Wind.

74% → 84% → 94%…

Until finally—

[Spells: Severing Wind (Great Understanding, 1%)]

"Severing Wind!" Lucas shouted, his heart pounding in exhilaration.

DING!

A sharp, metallic clang resounded through the training grounds.

The 100-meter target now bore a visible dent near its center.

"Success."

His hard work had finally paid off.

Even if this mysterious system was demonic or tied to black magic, he didn’t care. If it allowed him to slaughter more of those abominations, he would gladly sell his soul.

[Name: Lucas Limeol]

[Age: 17]

[Talent: Slaughter]

[Mana Capacity: 13] – Upgradable

[Mana Density: 2] – Upgradable

[Mana Quality: Low] – Upgradable

[Spells: Severing Wind (Great Understanding, 8%)] – Upgradable

[Slaughter Points: 0.6]

Lucas admired his stats, which had undergone significant changes in mere minutes—though at the cost of all his Slaughter Points.

Now, the upgrade buttons were grayed out, locking him out of further progression for the time being.

Before he could revel in his success, an angry voice rang out.

"You idiot! I told you to rest!"

Sylvia stormed toward him, her face flushed red.

"I'm fine," Lucas responded, unintentionally slipping back into his usual cold demeanor.

"I wasted three healing pills on you! Do you think I don’t know how critical your condition was? Your entire arm could have been crippled!" she scolded, grabbing his arm to examine it.

"What…? How did your nerves heal already?" Sylvia’s voice carried genuine bewilderment.

She had no idea about the transformation Lucas had just undergone.

"I got lucky and broke through in my spell. Combined with the residual effects of your healing pills, my arm fully recovered," he explained, softening as he recalled the price she had paid for his recklessness.

"But… thank you for your concern."

"A breakthrough? You?" Sylvia scoffed. "Haven’t you been stuck on the first stage of Severing Wind for four years?"

"Like I said, I got lucky. Now let go—I’m going on patrol."

Lucas pulled his arm free, feeling slightly flustered. Sylvia was undeniably attractive, and her hands were… soft.

"Already? Even if your arm is healed, your mana reserves must still be low! Don’t get yourself killed—we barely have enough manpower as it is!" Sylvia protested.

Lucas, ignoring her unusually concerned tone, simply shrugged. "I’ll be fine. There haven't been many abominations lately."

Sylvia sighed, knowing he was too stubborn to listen.

Instead, her gaze drifted to the training dummy.

Astonishment filled her eyes as she noticed the dent in the metal.

Soon, however, her shock gave way to something else—happiness.

"It looks like you finally got your lucky break, Luca."

She flashed a smile that could bring nations to their knees.

Then, just as quickly, she resumed her usual cold facade.

---

Lucas stood on the city walls, bathed in moonlight, gazing over the vast landscape.

Deep down, he knew exactly why he was so happy.

The stronger he became, the more abominations he could slaughter.

The more of their black blood he could spill.

For all their sins.

For all they had taken from him.