CHAPTER 153: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST [III]

The wolf’s claws bounced off Infinity, sending ripples through the air.

Lucius sighed in relief.

’I can’t believe I forgot I had this activated.’

The translucent barrier shimmered around him like liquid glass before fading back into invisibility.

The impact had been strong... strong enough to leave deep cracks in the frozen ground around them.

If not for Infinity, he would’ve been in two pieces by now.

Still, the situation wasn’t exactly safe.

He preferred fighting with his eyes, not... whatever this weird spatial perception was.

Everything looked like outlines and distortions, like he was staring at the world through rippled water.

Lucius sidestepped another swipe, feeling the wind slice past his cheek.

The monster’s breath was icy... each exhale formed a cloud of frost that drifted lazily before shattering into shards.

"Your skin is tough, huh?" he muttered.

The wolf snarled, its crystalline fur bristling.

It lunged again, and Lucius slammed a foot down.

The ground cracked, and a thick root of enchanted wood exploded upward from beneath the snow.

The wolf didn’t even have time to yelp... it was launched into the air, spiraling several meters high.

"That used a whole lot of mana," Lucius muttered through clenched teeth, wiping a bead of sweat from his temple.

He could feel it... mana leaking from his body like an open faucet.

It was absurd how fast it drained when he wasn’t paying attention.

’Was I really this wasteful before?’

Probably.

He never had to worry about mana since it would be enough for a raid or daily activities.

This new limitation was... humbling.

The other wolves were regrouping now, their glowing eyes like lanterns in the snowstorm.

The pack circled him cautiously, growls rumbling through the cold air.

Lucius exhaled. "Fine. I can waste a little more."

He extended a hand forward. Space warped like a heat haze, and the air screamed.

A ripple of distorted light burst outward, sweeping through the snow like a shockwave.

The world went silent for a heartbeat then the entire pack vanished.

Chunks of frozen earth lifted into the air, suspended for a moment before collapsing into the crater left behind.

All that remained were faintly glowing mana cores scattered across the ground, their warmth contrasting the biting cold.

Lucius waved a hand lazily.

The cores rose into the air, crushed together by an invisible force until they cracked and burst.

Streams of raw mana poured into his body.

The emptiness in his veins filled again and warmth spread through his limbs.

"Perfect," he whispered.

His mana bar, if he’d had one, was back to full.

Then the air trembled.

The wolf he’d launched earlier came crashing back down, smashing into the ice with a thunderous crack.

The impact shook the ground, but the monster didn’t stay down for long... it rose again, blood trailing from its snout but its posture as feral as ever.

Lucius tilted his head, impressed. "You’re persistent."

He focused his senses, analyzing the wolf’s form through space.

Despite the crater it made on impact, its internal structure was barely damaged.

The mana coursing through its body seemed even denser than before.

’If this is how durable C-Ranks are, how am I going to defeat the bosses?’

He sighed and lifted his hand.

Two wooden javelins materialized in the air beside him, spinning so fast that the air howled around them.

The tips glowed faintly as space compressed around their edges.

Lucius flicked his wrist.

The javelins shot forward with a sonic crack, piercing through the air faster than sound.

The wolf barely managed to lift its head before the first javelin struck.

The second followed instantly, burying deep into its skull.

The beast froze mid-growl.

For a moment, its body twitched, then went still.

The crystalline fur dulled, and the creature collapsed with a heavy thud, sending snow scattering into the air.

Lucius exhaled. "I just keep getting mana and wasting it..."

The storm whistled around him, as if mocking his words.

He looked down at the corpse, then to the frozen horizon beyond.

There was something terrifying about realizing how fragile he actually was now.

Every fight could be his last if he wasn’t careful.

His overwhelming advantage was gone, Using space and wood took a lot of mana... something that he was trying to save at this point.

’So this is what it feels like to be normal,’ he thought grimly.

He crouched beside the wolf and sliced through its hide with a spatial edge, peeling back the thick crystal-coated skin.

He reached inside and pulled out the core... a deep blue gem filled with residual mana.

"Thanks for the meal," he muttered and stored it in his inventory.

Then he straightened. "I need to find higher ground."

He tapped into space to lift himself, the same way he always did.

The world blurred and then he promptly fell flat on his back.

Lucius groaned. "What the hell?"

[Space is currently unstable here... You cannot use Unique Spell: Flight.]

He blinked, stunned. "So I can’t fly too? What’s with the constant nerfs?"

The system didn’t answer.

He rubbed his temples. "I swear, this dungeon hates me."

He trudged forward, boots crunching in the snow.

’This is ridiculous,’ he thought. ’How’s a man supposed to be cool and overpowered when the world keeps bullying him?’

Still, he pressed on.

The blizzard seemed endless... white stretching in every direction.

He could barely sense anything beyond a hundred meters.

Then... the snow under his feet moved.

Lucius stopped instantly.

He frowned, lowering his hand toward the ground. "Huh?"

The snow bulged slightly, forming a small mound.

His instincts screamed.

Lucius stepped back cautiously, scanning the distortion through space.

Beneath him, he saw... something.

Layers of movement under the ice, vast and coiling.

The spatial outline of the ground was wrong... This wasnt ground at all...

He realized too late what it was.

"Wait—"

The ground beneath him collapsed.

Snow and ice split open in a perfect circle, revealing rows of jagged, translucent teeth.

The smell hit him first... a sickly-sweet stench of rot and corrosion.

A massive gullet opened beneath him.

Lucius didn’t even have time to react before gravity pulled him in.

"Shit—!"

The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him was the ring of crystalline teeth snapping shut.

And then he was gone.

In one fell swoop, Lucius was swallowed by a monster.