The spider construct was a marvel of ancient, soulless engineering. Its thorax was a drum of copper and iron, and its legs were long, spindly hydraulic pistons that clicked against the stone with precision. It scuttled across the floor, its eight green eyes locking onto Leo as he stepped forward.
[Araknis the Corroder - Rare - D Rank]
"Ren, stand down. Let me deal with this," Leo commanded. Ren hesitated, but the weight of his voice forced her to retreat into the gloom.
'This is the best time to let my body adapt to the experience,' Leo thought. He knew his proficiency with the dagger was still shallow; he needed to bridge the gap between his system-granted skills and actual combat experience.
He raised his hand, commanding the stagnant blood on the floor. It surged upward, twisting into five crystalline spikes. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he launched them at the construct's eyes. The spider reacted with jarring speed, swatting the projectiles aside in a spray of sparks. It leaped toward the ceiling, the grinding of its gears echoing through the chamber.
Leo attempted to bind the machine with blood-chains, but the construct was too agile, either jumping out of range or using its massive torque to snap the restraints.
'Fine. If I cannot bind you, I will break you,' Leo thought. As a beam of concentrated acid hissed toward him, he used Void flicker.
He manifested directly on the spider's back. The metal shrieked as he drove his blade into the vulnerable seal between its head and thorax. The machine bucked and spun, trying to shake him off, but Leo held fast. He began a savage rhythm, driving the dagger into the abdomen over and over until the plating began to buckle and shred.
"Die, you piece of scrap!" Leo growled, the adrenaline of the fight taking hold.
The construct, sensing its imminent destruction, triggered a final, desperate protocol. It detonated its own acidic abdomen in a violent burst.
'Nooo'
BOOMM!
The explosion launched Leo across the room, slamming him into the stone wall. The acid sizzled against his skin, eating through his clothing and melting his flesh. Leo collapsed, thrashing in an agonizing heat that felt like he was being flayed alive.
"AHHHHHHH"
As the spider lurched forward to deliver a killing blow with its sharpened leg, Ren stepped in, her blades flashing.
"Lord, get back! I will end this—"
"I said no."
An oppressive, absolute pressure filled the room, a crimson aura so thick it felt physical. Ren froze, her heart hammering against her ribs as she looked back.
Leo was rising. The charred, melted flesh of his chest and arms was knitting together with impossible speed, the wounds closing as if they had never existed. By the time he stood at his full height, his face was flawless, the burns replaced by a terrifying, pale calm.
'What kind of monster do we submit to?' Ren wondered, her limbs trembling.
[System Note: Blood Bank Depleted]
"That machine is mine," Leo hissed. His eyes burned with a predatory red light, and his canines elongated into fangs.
The spider shrieked, its mechanical logic struggling to process the aura of the man before it. It tried to reassert its authority, but the moment the pressure wavered, Leo was gone. He appeared in a blur, his dagger shearing through the spider's primary leg.
SCRRRT
The construct tilted, its sensors flashing a frantic green as it tried to stabilize, but Leo was a menace. He systematically carved through the remaining hydraulic limbs, reducing the rare-grade monster to a legless torso. He stood over its central eye and drove the dagger home.
Even after the mechanical movement died out and the system notification pinged in his vision, Leo didn't stop. He cast his weapon aside and began to rain down heavy, savage blows with his bare fists. "Die! Die! Die!"
"Lord... it is over. It is dead," Ren whispered, approaching him with extreme caution.
Leo turned to her, his expression cold and distant for a heartbeat before the red light in his eyes faded. He blinked, the crimson aura dissipating into the damp air.
He exhaled a long, shaky breath and slumped against the mangled pile of scrap. "Ahh, shit. That actually hurt," he muttered, resting his head against the cold metal.
[System Notification: Araknis the Corroder Slain]
[Double Harvest Applied: Corrosive Mechanical Core x2 (Rare), Reinforced Spider Silk x20 (Uncommon), Refined Scrap Iron x50 (Common), Acid Gland x4 (Rare), Sanguine Essence x500]
"My Lord... what exactly are you?" Ren asked, her voice trembling with a mixture of awe and lingering fear.
Leo looked at her, the crimson light in his eyes fading into his usual calm. He sighed and shook his head. "Woman, why do you not cover yourself first before you worry about my nature?" he said, tossing his heavy coat toward her.
Ren caught the garment and wrapped it tightly around her, hiding the skin exposed by the acid. "Will you give me an answer?"
Leo paused, a shadow of a smirk playing on his lips. "I am just your friendly neighborhood vampire," he said.
Ren tilted her head, her fox ears twitching in confusion. "A neighborhood lord? I do not understand the reference."
"It was a joke, Ren. Have you truly never encountered a vampire in your world?" He stood up, his movements fluid and effortless. The acid had ruined his shirt, leaving his upper body bare. The flickering light of the dungeon played across his lean, corded muscles and the pale skin that showed no trace of the horrific burns from moments ago.
"I have heard the legends of the blood-Race but I thought them myths," Ren replied, her gaze darting away from his chest as she felt an uncharacteristic heat in her cheeks.
A green-hued treasure chest manifested in the center of the hall, pulsing with light, and an exit portal swirled into existence behind it. Leo claimed the prize. "Enough talk. We have a schedule to keep."
Outside the cave, Luna was pacing restlessly. Behind her, Malphas stood like a dark statue, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. "The Master's orders were to maximize efficiency, not to loiter," Malphas stated, his voice like grinding stones.
"Old man, breathe," Luna replied lazily. "I can feel it. They cleared it already."
Malphas narrowed his eyes, the dark fire in his sockets flickering. 'One day, I shall convince the Lord that she is more useful as a corpse,' he mused. But the thought vanished as Leo stepped through the portal.
"My Lord," Malphas said, kneeling instantly alongside Vespar.
Luna started to cheer, but her voice died in her throat when she saw a shirtless Leo followed by a blushing Ren wrapped in his coat. Her eyes narrowed into slits. "You bully! What did you do to my Ren in there?"
Leo ignored the accusation with a scoff, signaling for Malphas to rise. Ren moved to Luna's side, tugging at the coat. "My lady, please... do not disrespect the Master. He saved me," she whispered, her eyes wide and pleading.
"You have to be kidding me," Luna muttered. She watched her once-cold assassin turn into a fawning subordinate. She glared at Leo, who simply gave her a mocking wink. 'You absolute bastard,' she thought, her teeth grinding together.
Leo didn't waste time on pleasantries. He sent the Luna and Vespar back to the safety of the Encampment and spent the remaining hours of the blessing grinding the Dungeon with Malphas. By the time the twin moons reached their zenith, they had cleared the mechanical halls three more times.
That evening, Leo sat upon his throne within the Lord's Hall. The air around him hummed with the sheer volume of wealth he had gathered. His inventory was overflowing: four Uncommon chests, one Rare chest, and the remains of over a hundred beasts ranging from common to rare. He had even secured several guardian core fragments, and the entire treasury of the Lord Malphas had slain.
'The Rare chest was a one-time reward for the first clear, but the sheer volume of iron and scrap metal makes up for it,' Leo thought, his eyes scanning the piles of loot. The foundation for his Level 4 territory was finally ready.
"It is time," Leo murmured to the empty room. "Dismantle."