CHAPTER 113: NEW SKILL EFFECT

[Killing Intent (SSS) (C) – Killing Points Required: 0 / 100,000]

Due to Killing Intent’s first effect, your physical stats have increased.

[Killing Body: Physical stats increase as you kill]

Strength: D → C

Agility: D– → C

[Progression Alert]

Killing Intent (SSS) has risen from D-Rank to C-Rank.

[New Effect Unlocked – Killing Intent]

Skill Name: Killing Intent

Type: Active / Passive

Category: Psychological / Assassin / Warrior

Skill Description: "Killing Intent" is the embodiment of pure bloodlust sharpened through countless battles, forged in near death struggles, and intensified by the total number of beings you’ve slain. It is both a weapon and a presence, terrifying and overwhelming.

Skill Effects:

1. Bloodlust / Killing intent:Emits an oppressive aura that instills raw, primal fear in all living beings within range.Weaker enemies freeze, vomit, or collapse from the sheer pressure. Animals flee. Spirits wail. The brave hesitate.

2. Killing Illusion: Targets are dragged into a vivid hallucination of their own death throats slit, hearts crushed, heads split or mimicking the final moments of the beings the user has slain.

Causes temporary paralysis, disorientation, or extreme mental shock depending on the target’s psychological strength.

Especially effective against those with unresolved fear, trauma, or guilt.

A very interesting effect this time. Razeal rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes half-lidded in amusement, even as colossal shadows loomed all around him.

He twisted midair, narrowly evading a giant icy paw that slammed into the ground with earth-shattering force. He wasn’t just dodging he was dancing. To an outside observer, it would have looked like an ant weaving between titanic elephants, always just out of reach, yet never still.

The landscape had become a surreal battlefield: a frozen expanse stretching endlessly, with nearly 100,000 Glaciermights trudging toward one small point Razeal. Each one was a mountain-sized beast, thundering closer at an agonizing pace. And there he was, the purple-haired teenager, almost playing.

But make no mistake: Razeal was killing them. Slowly, methodically, and with style.

He wasn’t only using shadow or flow anymore. No, his entire approach had shifted. He’d been sharpening every sense: refining battle instincts, upgrading his perception, fusing his shadow manipulation with flow rhythm, and experimenting in real-time.

His hearing was acute, his flow sense impeccable. At least within a 40-meter radius, he was practically untouchable. He knew when an attack would come, even before the air shifted. This omniscient sphere of awareness gave him absolute control.

And now, he had something new.

"Killing Intent..." he muttered to himself.

His eyes briefly flicked open, the corner of his mouth curled. The second effect was what intrigued him most Intent Manifestation. Psychological warfare. Mental illusions. Making his enemies see death or the deaths Razeal had given till now.

It wasn’t brute power.

It was fear. Pure, distilled, soul-shaking fear.

Razeal was still marveling at the potential when the system pinged in his head:

[Host, your body is in need of nutrients. You haven’t eaten for over 20 hours. Tomorrow is your duel. Time remaining: 11 hours. I advise you to exit the training space and recover. Also, your daily trade collection from Levy is pending. You might want to check on it mana and shadow affinity can still be boosted.]

"Wait... seriously? What time is it?" Razeal asked, mid-flip as he parried a Glaciermight’s claw with a slash of compressed shadow.

[It is just about to be night in the real world.]

He clicked his tongue. "I must’ve gotten way too into training today... almost forgot about trade and food."

Another beast lunged. Razeal sidestepped effortlessly, sliding across a thin sheet of shadow under his feet. He didn’t even glance at the Glaciermight as it slammed into the ground where he’d stood milliseconds ago.

"So less time we have now" Razeal muttered mid-motion, his voice low but steady, "let’s do that... but before that.."

He grinned.

"Let me try out the new skill, shall we?"

His eyes narrowed as a wicked smile stretched across his face. Blood still dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t care. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

"Bloodlust," he said aloud.

And the moment the word left his lips, the change hit.

His eyes flared.. no, cracked like blood-red lightning had struck inside his irises. Veins along his neck and temples pulsed black and red as a dark crimson fog began seeping from his skin. Not pouring.. seeping. Oozing from every pore, like a pressure valve just barely holding back something violent.

The fog clung to him like steam off boiling blood, wrapping around his shoulders, his blade, his boots. It was thick, heavy, and real. He could feel it his own condensed bloodlust formed from every death, every life he’d taken, drop by drop.

Then, in a whisper that shook the air more than his tone should’ve allowed, Razeal said:

"Release."

SHOOM.

The red fog burst outward, detonating in a sphere of psychic force. A visible ripple of killing intent exploded from him light red and translucent, almost like a shockwave made of liquid hate. It passed through the ground, over the ice, across the sky.

It didn’t damage anything. Not physically.

But when it hit the surrounding Glaciermights those mountain-sized polar behemoths something odd happened.

For a fraction of a second, they paused.

Barely a blink. Barely noticeable. Just a stutter in their movements, a flicker in their giant eyes. No collapsing. No screams. No visible effect.

And then, as if nothing happened, they kept moving. Charging. Roaring. Swinging.

Razeal’s eyes twitched, but his expression didn’t crack.

[It won’t work on them, Host.] Villey’s voice rang out in his mind. [Like every other effect of the Killing Intent skill, it’s directly tied to its current rank.]

The system window floated into view: [Killing Intent (SSS) (C) – Killing Points Required: 0 / 100,000]

[Effect: Too weak to affect Rank B monsters. Strength gap too wide.]

"I figured as much," Razeal exhaled, not disappointed. He flexed his fingers as the blood fog began receding slowly into him again. "Still... that ripple spreading in all directions. That might come in handy when I’m facing a crowd. Or maybe during a siege..."

He rolled his shoulders, dismissing the disappointment. The idea of sending a mental death-wave across a battlefield? That had potential.

But for now, it wasn’t enough.

"Alright, Villey," he said, spinning on his heels as shadow tendrils lifted him into the air. "Kick me out. Let’s head back."

[Affirmative. Exiting System Training Space...]

And in a blink

The frozen battlefield dissolved around him. The towering Glaciermights vanished like dust in the wind. The storming winds of bloodlust and death curled inward and fell silent.

****

"Ahhh man, I’m starving," Razeal muttered as his eyes blinked open. The moment his feet touched the floor, his stomach grumbled in agreement.

He didn’t waste a second. No stretching, no fixing his hair, no checking the system skills lr anything. Just a lazy shuffle down the stairs.

To his surprise, the shop downstairs was still open. Night had fallen outside the sky was dark yet the warm glow from the shop lights.

Behind the counter, Levy sat. He didn’t greet Razeal. Didn’t frown or even smile. Just looked up, locked eyes with him briefly, and Without a word, he bent down and started pulling items from under the counter as if looking for somthing.

Razeal wasn’t surprised by the cold reception. This had been going on for a few days now Levy’s mood had shifted. He was acting more distant, colder, clearly dissatisfied. Razeal knew why.

He hadn’t kept his word.

He’d promised Levy the illusion skill. Said he’d hand it over once he done the deal. But that promise kept slipping day after day.

But it wasn’t like Razeal was slacking off. He’d just been caught up in training. Finding a villain skilled in illusions and making a deal with them would take time, maybe too much time so he didn’t do it yet.

"Here are all the cores, Boss," Levy finally said.

He placed a special pouch on the counter with a quiet thud. "Sold 6,250,000 fire arrows. Got 31,250,000 third-rank elemental cores. And 62,500 fourth-rank monster cores."

Razeal nodded, expression unreadable beneath his mask.

Levy continued, his tone firm but calm. "That was the last stock of first-rank arrows from our main buyer. They can’t provide more right now. And I don’t have any more in reserve either. So... If you’re thinking of transforming these elemental cores into more arrows for the next deal... it won’t work.. So maybe might be it."

Levy stood slowly from his chair and walked over to Razeal, extending the special pouch toward him.

"I see," Razeal said, taking the bag from his hand. He began quietly transferring the monster cores directly into the system space.. the Zenocide zone. It had become his personal storage space these past few days, and it was working quite well for him too.

The room went silent for a few seconds.

Levy spoke again. "Tomorrow’s the last day of our deal. After that... we’re done."

"I see," Razeal replied again, still focused on the bag, hand moving inside as he finished the transfer.

Another pause. Then Levy finally said what he had clearly been holding in for a while.

"There’s something I should’ve said days ago," Levy began, his tone direct.

He paused, then added, "Maybe we could’ve been better, longer-term partners if you knew how to take care of your partners, boss. I mean, maybe next time actually pay them what was promised.. respectfully."

Levy shrugged, a small smile on his face as he looked Razeal in the eye through his mask. He wasn’t the type to play the pushover. If he felt like he was being looked down on or treated like a pawn, he’d speak up.

"Next time, treat them better if you really want genuine, loyal business," Levy said, straight to the point.

Honestly, Razeal had gone back on his promises. At first, he said he just wanted a place to stay, and Levy would handle food and the basics. Razeal had given around 700 or 800 elemental cores to him but later took back 400 of them himself to make iron arrows, leaving almost nothing behind. Then came the talk about starting a business. He promised to give Levy an illusion skill, but kept postponing it day after day after deal done.

To Levy, it was straight-up disrespectful. When had he ever let himself be taken advantage of like this? Sure, he liked his life, but not enough to stay quiet when he was being disrespected.

Razeal finally paused mid-transfer, his gloved hand hovering above the pouch. His eyes met Levy’s

Ohh!! That’s a misunderstanding you’re having, my friend. You were never meant to be a partner in the first place," Razeal said coolly.

Levy remained silent, unmoving, his eyes fixed on Razeal as the masked figure stepped closer.

"And even if it was about getting a partner... A partner who could be bought with money or profit isn’t worth having." Razeal extended the special pouch back to Levy with a smirk. "Here is the payment for this week’s work. Enjoy."

He gave a casual pat to Levy’s shoulder, turned on his heel, and began walking away. He’d taken all the monster cores he needed; as for the elemental cores, they were irrelevant now.. at least to him.

Levy looked down at the special pouch in his hand. He opened it. Inside were 31,250,000 elemental cores.

Over three hundred million gold coins’ worth.

A fortune. Enough to become one of the small wealthy individuals in the capital. His life was set materially, at least.

But no smile crossed his face.

"It was never about the price," Levy said quietly, eyes following Razeal. "It was about words."

Razeal paused mid-step.

"You might not be worthy enough to get any skills from me," he said without looking back. "That amount in your hands now should be enough for you to buy a decent illusion skill. Buy it. And my word will be fulfilled."

That was final. He began walking again.

But then

"Worthy, huh?" Levy’s voice shifted tone. Calm, but carrying weight. He lifted his right hand, slowly taking off his glasses. His eyes cool and unreadable locked onto Razeal’s. "Then let me show you... why I compare myself to a god."

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