"Dinner?" The scar-faced thug laughed, seemingly hearing a bad joke. "Kid, are you scared out of your mind? Hand over the bag, and I might break only one of your legs."
He signaled his two lackeys. "Get him!"
The two thugs raised their baseball bats and charged, their heavy footsteps echoing in the narrow alley.
Lucas stood motionless under the dim light, clutching the heavy bag of money. His expression didn't change a bit.
"Seraphina," Lucas whispered. "Don't ruin the cash."
"As you wish, Master."
Whoosh!
The moment the first thug swung his bat, Lucas vanished.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Cloak!]
His body melded into the darkness, increasing his speed by 200%. He reappeared instantly behind the thugs, completely dodging their attack.
"What?! Where did he go?" The thugs hit empty air and stumbled.
Before they could turn around, darkness engulfed them.
Seraphina emerged from the shadows like the Grim Reaper. Her silver hair danced in the air, but her eyes were cold, vertical slits of pure killing intent.
She didn't use fire. She raised her pale, beautiful hand, and shadows coalesced into sharp black spikes on the ground.
"You dare touch what belongs to my Master?"
Pu! Pu!
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out.
Two sharp shadow spikes shot up from the ground, instantly piercing the chests of the two lackeys.
They didn't even have time to scream before they collapsed, blood staining the pavement.
"Demon... She's a demon!"
The scar-faced leader was terrified. His legs shook violently, and he turned to run. This wasn't a student! This was a monster!
But as he turned, he bumped into a chest.
Lucas was standing there, blocking the exit, his eyes calm and indifferent.
"Running away so soon?" Lucas asked.
"Please! I have money! I have..."
Slash.
Seraphina's hand, formed into a blade of shadow, swept past his neck. The leader's head rolled onto the ground.
The entire battle lasted less than ten seconds.
Three corpses lay on the cold ground. Lucas looked at them without any nausea. In this world, the law of the jungle was absolute. If he were weak, he would be the one dead in this alley.
"Seraphina, well done."
"It was nothing, Master." Seraphina licked a drop of blood from her finger, looking dangerous and enchanting. "Their blood tastes... disgusting. Too weak."
Lucas crouched down and began to search the bodies.
"Let's see what good Samaritans we have here."
[Ding! Loot successful.]
Wallet: $2,300 cash.
Weapon: Steel Dagger (Common).
Item: A crumpled map of a Low-Level Dungeon.
"Not bad. Just enough to buy a few extra potions," Lucas stood up and put the cash into his pocket. He kicked the dagger aside.
He turned to look at the "Night Owl Trading House" in the distance. No alarms, no police. This was the Underground District; death was a daily occurrence here.
"Let's go home, Seraphina. We have 7 days until the Tournament."
Lucas's eyes shone with ambition.
"I need to use that $50,000 to maximize our strength. I want to evolve you to the next stage."
"Oh?" Seraphina's eyes lit up with excitement. "Does that mean... I can grow up?"
Lucas smiled. "Yes. Get ready to transform."