Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

The atmosphere crackled with tension as Lucian's crimson gaze darkened further. His lips curled in distaste as he took a step forward. "Transform. All of you."

The vampires surrounding him didn't hesitate. As if responding to an unspoken command, their eyes blazed with an eerie red glow, their fangs extended, and dark, bat-like wings erupted from their backs.

A collective growl rumbled through the chamber, an ominous chorus of primal hunger.

But Lucian's transformation was something else entirely.

"Ghhh!" He growled. His once-dark hair turned gleaming silver, his skin paled to a sickly white, and his sclera turned pitch-black, leaving only his burning red pupils visible.

The wings on his back spread wide—larger, more imposing than the others. A sinister energy pulsed around him, his very presence sending shivers down the spines of even his own subordinates.

Alex, standing in the midst of this, tensed.

He had fought powerful beings before, but the sheer presence Lucian exuded was different. More ancient. More refined.

Alex had fought with an eight-star, star connection realm assassin before. That guy was strong. More than what he could handle, but Lucian was on a completely different stage.

Firstly, Lucian had a very strong bloodline—the most potent among the vampires. Secondly, he was a nine-star, star connection realm expert.

Just having the bloodline was something Alex couldn't ignore. That bloodline was ranked Violet, with only black above it.

If someone uses these bloodlines, they are said to be capable of crossing the power difference between realms.

If they were both on the same power level, then Alex would be confident of his victory since his physique was black-ranked, but now he wasn't—at least not without using destruction.@@novelbin@@

Lucian, however, didn't seem to have any intention of giving Alex a chance to analyze it further.

Lucian wasn't the type to waste time. Unlike the cliché villains, he wasn't going to stand around monologueing.

He would attack now when Alex seemed occupied in his thoughts. "Attack," he snarled, his voice like steel scraping against stone.

From the shadows, his weaker subordinates raised their hands, mana gathering into their palms as bursts of elemental magic shot toward Alex—fire, ice, wind, and even dark energy. The space crackled with an onslaught of spells.

Lucian, meanwhile, reached into his cloak and retrieved a glowing red marble. He brought it to his lips, whispering, "Size Enlargement."

The moment the words left his mouth, reality twisted.

The six-meter-high prison hall stretched upward in a surreal, sickening expansion. Walls groaned and shifted, stretching until they were high enough for flight. The floor beneath them cracked and reformed, expanding into a battlefield that spanned a hundred meters in every direction.

Lucian had control of this palace. The first thing he did after getting here was acquire it. It was more like the palace automatically surrendered control to Lucian.

That was also the reason why Alex's every action was known by Lucian. From the moment Alex entered the trial grounds, Lucian knew where he was.

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Alex, feeling the sudden shift in the surroundings, had his footing waver as the change disoriented him. He staggered, instinctively trying to regain his balance.

To Lucian, however, it was the opening he had been waiting for.

"Now! Tear him apart!"

A deafening roar followed as his star-connection realm subordinate lunged forward, claws bared, fangs flashing. At the same time, a renewed barrage of spells bombarded Alex from all sides.

Boom!

[Alex!!!] Sophie's alarmed voice echoed in Alex's head as the shockwave of force sent him careening through the air. He barely managed to cross his arms—covered with Verathian—in front of him before a vicious claw swipe from Lucian himself connected with his midsection.

Crack!

The impact sent him flying like a rag doll, slamming him into the far wall with enough force to shatter stone. The moment his body struck, the wall pulsed—and then, unbelievably, it healed itself, leaving no trace of his impact.

Alex crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from his wounds. His breaths were ragged and his vision was swimming.

Verathian was shattered; the weapon had shifted its focus to stopping Lucian's attack, but it wasn't strong enough. It was now formlessly lying in front of Alex, wriggling as it tried to connect itself.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

The vampires exchanged glances, then smirked.

"That was it?" one sneered.

"I thought he'd be more of a threat," another laughed.

"All that buildup for nothing," a third scoffed, shaking his head. "We worried for no reason."

They had all thought that Alex was going to be challenging. They were scared even.

Seeing two of the four star-connection realm vampires die was really shocking after all.

"Hah! If only our seniors had their guard up, they wouldn't have died like that," growled a female vampire.

"I wanted to peel his skin off for such a cowardly act, but too bad he's dead," lamented another vampire as he shook his head.

"You can still do it, though?" A young vampire tilted his head, causing the former to chuckle. "It's no use when you can't hear one scream in pain."

Hearing those words, the other vampires' grins widened as their eyes turned to the prison cells in the surroundings.

They decided to take out their frustration on the prisoners. Hearing their screams would somewhat ease their nerves.

'And it's not like we can't bring more insects from the city.' This was their collective thought, treating the humans living in the ruined city as insects.

One person, however, wasn't smiling, nor was he sharing their emotions.

Lucian felt something wasn't right.

His crimson gaze remained locked on Alex's battered form. 'He took all our attacks head-on and is still in one piece? How is that possible?'

Even if Lucian were to take out his own attack, the remaining attacks, which consisted of flamethrowers and many other magic attacks, wouldn't just cause Alex physical harm.

Those attacks would burn his body, freeze his body, and then break his body, yet all he had was a bloodied body. It was as if all damage was internal and from a physical attack.

'Huh?' Then Lucian saw it—the faintest movement. Alex's lips parted, and in a barely audible whisper, he muttered, "I'm sorry, Sophie, but I'll have to use the physique."

Lucian couldn't hear what he said, but Alex was alive, and he was planning something.

Within the dream space, Sophie remained silent, replying after a while, [There's no other choice anyway.]

Alex's lips curled into a slow, almost serene smile. "Good that you know."

He was letting Sophie know that he was going to use the physique, as he had said that he would try not to use it.

Then, with a deep inhale, he activated breath control and healing breath. A surge of life energy coursed through his veins, his wounds healing instantly.

His torn clothing remained like that, but strength flooded back into his limbs as he rose—slowly, deliberately, his gaze unreadable.

The vampires who had been gloating a moment ago fell silent.

Their eyes widened, horror creeping into their expressions.

"What...?" one of them muttered.

"That's not possible..." another whispered in disbelief.

For some reason, they felt something was coming for them. As Alex's gaze passed through them, they felt like they were being stared at by a predator.

Lucian wasn't any better. Although he didn't feel scared like the other vampires, his instincts still screamed at him. His instincts told him he would need to get serious, or things might go haywire.

"Don't let him recover!" He roared. "Attack! Now!"

And as the horde of vampires prepared to attack once again, this time more desperate.