Ron bared his claws.
Shiro's eyes darkened as a shadow flickered behind him.
Lina's ghost hands twitched to life. And Klee hesitated… but stood tall.
The goblins snarled and charged.
Ron dashed forward—this time faster, cleaner.
He didn't waste time with posturing or analysis.
He zigzagged low, used his tail to sweep one goblin off its feet, and buried his claw into its throat before it could even stand.
One strike.
Done.
Elius smiled faintly.
"Better."
Shiro and his clone danced in the darkness, circling their foe.
The real Shiro dodged a strike, while the clone attacked from the rear.
The goblin was confused—panicking—until both blades stabbed into it simultaneously.
It died choking on its blood.
Lina, this time, wrapped her ghost arms around Klee immediately, pulling her out of reach when her goblin lunged.
As the goblin clawed at them, the clone Lina lunged forward, tackling it. It fought back savagely—but couldn't reach the real Lina.
She waited for an opening—then struck with a burst of ghostly spikes that pinned the goblin down long enough for Klee to send an electric pulse through its skull.
The goblin twitched.
Then stopped moving.
The four of them stood, breathing heavily, but this time—standing stronger.
Elius stepped forward, nodding.
"Better."
Their chests swelled slightly at the praise, their weariness momentarily forgotten.
"But," Elius added, raising a hand, "Ron—you still opened with a tail sweep. That works on basic enemies, but a smarter one would've grabbed your tail. Don't make that a habit."
Ron grunted. "Understood."
"Klee," Elius continued, "your timing's better, but you waited for Lina to do everything before acting. You're a support, but that doesn't mean passive. You have to anticipate danger."
Klee gave a sheepish nod.
"Lina," he said, "you did well using your clone to redirect, but your finishing strike was too delayed. Don't wait. Your ghost hands don't need verbal commands—use instinct."
Lina nodded more firmly this time.
"And Shiro…" Elius looked at the silver-eyed boy. "You're improving. But your stance is still too shallow. If your clone fails, you'll be open. Widen your base. Think like a cultivator, not a fencer."
Shiro bowed his head. "Yes."
For a moment, the silence was warm.
Elius couldn't help it.
He smiled faintly—just for a moment.
It's just like Earth, he thought. Teaching newbies how to fight in cultivation dungeons. Back then, I made good money for this. Those kids would send me thirty bucks just for one dungeon run.
But there was no money here.
No PayPal pings.
No online usernames.
Just survival.
Just blood.
Just—ting!
A sudden chime echoed inside his head.
Elius snapped his gaze to the far end of the cavern where Shiro and his clone had finished off the final goblin. But as the last twitch of its limbs faded…
Another one appeared.
From behind a rock pile, half-buried, it rose—snarling, dagger in hand.
But that wasn't what made Elius' heart jolt.
It was the glow.
That faint, undeniable glow hovering over the creature's heart.
A fragment.
Another fragment.
His pupils dilated.
"A second Martial Skill?" he murmured.
He stepped forward, eyes blazing.
Could it be? Another hidden art buried in this goblin-infested dungeon?
Shiro didn't notice it.
But Elius did.
And he would not let it slip through his fingers.
Elius raised his hand to stop himself mid-step.
The eagerness that surged moments before dulled like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.
No… this doesn't make sense, he thought, his brows furrowing.
He stood still, his eyes locked on the faintly glowing fragment floating above the fresh goblin corpse. The system had never lied to him before, but his mind buzzed with contradictions.
Back in the game… Elius clenched his fist.
Back in his past life, during his endless hours grinding inside the world's most realistic cultivation VRMMORPG, separate dungeons like this one—side zones, beginner caves, low-tier ruins—they only ever gave one Martial Skill.
Just one.
And that was considered generous.
The logic of the game, the unspoken system rules he'd learned from hundreds of raids and party runs, told him this shouldn't be possible.
That this—finding a second Martial Skill fragment in the same dungeon—was either a glitch or a miracle.
He took a slow breath.
But then… Why was he even thinking in game logic?
This wasn't Earth. This wasn't some server controlled by data structures and RNG.
This world—this cruel, mad world of superheroes and secret cultivation—wasn't bound by those same limitations.
It was real.
It was raw.
It was bloody.
There were no developers here.
No patch notes. No balance changes. Or so he thought.
But overall, if there was more than one Martial Skill… then that meant more power.
More power meant faster growth.
Faster growth meant…
Elius' expression darkened.
…less interest from Radiant Man.
Yes.
If he became strong enough, fast enough, the man who called himself his father wouldn't feel the need to keep "testing" him. Wouldn't suspect the truth that Elius was hiding with every breath he took.
That he wasn't of Solarion blood.
That he wasn't even supposed to be here.
That he was an invader from another world.
"...Good," he whispered, a small, sharp smile cutting across his lips.
He raised one hand.
Shing—!
One of his five spirit-bound swords materialized instantly, floating beside him with a low hum. It gleamed in the dark like a silent predator.
Then—
SWOOSH—!
CRACK—!
The sword blurred and vanished, only to reappear buried in the goblin's skull with a disgusting crunch.
The body dropped lifelessly, its glowing fragment rising gently like a feather caught in invisible wind.
Ron flinched at the sudden kill.
Lina blinked rapidly.
Shiro tensed and stepped closer to Klee, who had instinctively raised her hands to shield herself.
"Elius…?" Shiro said.
But Elius didn't answer.
He walked forward.
Straight to the corpse. His boots splashed into a small puddle of blood as he knelt and stared at the glowing system screen that rose up.
[Fragment of Martial Skill Found!]
Martial Skill: Unknown.
Type: Normal Type.
Owned: ⅕
Effect: Fragment only.
Collect remaining pieces to unlock full skill.
He couldn't stop the grin forming on his face.
Two.
That was two fragments already.
Behind him, the others exchanged looks.
"He's in that mode again," Lina murmured, voice tight.
"Should we say something?" Klee whispered.
"No," Shiro replied. "Let him cook."
And just like that, Elius turned away—and the bloodbath began again.
He didn't speak. He didn't train them. He didn't look back.
He moved from corridor to corridor, slaying every goblin with methodical, terrifying efficiency.
His swords danced like vipers through the darkness, flashing between rocks and shadowed corners.
Every flick of his fingers summoned death.
Goblins were shredded before they could scream.
Beheaded before they could lift their blades.
Their green blood rained like a storm through the cave.
He chased the fragments. And every time he saw one—he dove.
He killed.
He collected.
The third piece glowed like moonlight on obsidian stone—plucked from the body of a goblin elder who'd tried to run.
The fourth was hidden in a cracked urn guarded by two goblin mages, their fireballs fizzled out mid-cast as Elius' swords cut them in half.
The fifth—oh, the fifth—was buried under a collapsed tunnel behind a goblin corpse that had already begun rotting, but Elius sensed it. He felt it. Like gravity pulling his soul.
And when his fingers finally touched it, the system screamed in his mind.
[Ding!]
Martial Skill Formed: Dragon Claw
Grade: Normal
Type: Offensive
Description: A fearsome martial strike capable of generating shockwave force through raw claw-based chi control.
Elius' heart pounded.
He stood still in the green-soaked cavern, bathed in blood and moonlight from Shiro's shadow clone's glowing eyes.
His new Martial Skill shimmered in his interface, waiting.
Waiting to be tested.
But not yet.
No.
Not here. Not with eyes watching.
He wiped his hands clean, turned back to his party, and said, "Let's resume training."
The four blinked in confusion.
Lina spoke first. "Wait… what about—"
"We're behind schedule." Elius' voice was cool, unreadable. "You need to fight more."
Soon after, he located another goblin lair—one he'd bypassed earlier—and swept through it like a scythe through wheat, leaving behind only four terrified survivors.
They squealed and cowered.
"Form up," Elius commanded.
Ron snarled and shifted again. Klee activated her device. Shiro summoned his clone. Lina's ghost limbs bloomed from her shoulders like phantom wings.
The four charged.
And Elius?
He turned away.
He watched only for a moment, long enough to confirm their focus was locked. Their eyes on their targets. Their minds inside the fight.
Good.
He stepped toward the cave wall, deep in shadow, away from the flickering torches and green blood puddles.
And then—
He focused.
He willed the new skill to activate.
And something ancient stirred in his body.
His right arm began to glow.
CRACK-K-K-K—!!!
Golden lines ran from his shoulder down to his fingertips, like veins of molten metal. His fingers snapped and cracked, bones reshaping.
Nails thickened, curved, extended.
The flesh along his forearm darkened, his muscles expanded, his wrist bent at an unnatural angle—
Until his entire arm had transformed.
Into a Dragon Claw.
It didn't just look like one.
It felt like one.
His fingers tingled with devastating pressure. Every nerve screamed with coiled force.
He took a breath. Raised the claw.
And tapped the stone wall in front of him.
Barely a touch.
BOOM—!!!
The entire section of wall exploded inward with an invisible force. Dust rained down. A shockwave tore through the stone like it had been struck by a battering ram.
A jagged, two-meter-deep crater was left where his claw had tapped.
Elius stood frozen.
Eyes wide.
Mouth slightly open.
Not because he hadn't expected force—but because…
It was that much power from a gentle touch.
The walls groaned. Cracks spiderwebbed across the cavern. Distant pebbles tumbled down like frightened children fleeing a thunderclap.
Behind him, the battle paused.
The four turned their heads toward the explosion.
"…Was that…?" Klee asked, mouth hanging open.
But Elius had already returned.
Arm normal. Expression unreadable.
"Focus," he said calmly.
As if the bang had never happened.