Chapter 53: A tough battle

Tier two magic: Lightning Rampart!

Following his vicious cry, powerful bolts of electricity exploded from Lucien's body, attacking everything within a few meters. He watched the scorched felines dropped to the floor as their shadow cloaks vanished revealing their small and feeble bodies. None of them survived...

DING!

DING!

DING!

[10 Black Hushs killed…]

[+500exp]

[Beast assimilation Successful]

[Beast assimilated…]

[Shadow death God beast]

[Phase: Infant]

[Beast name: Black Hush]

[Assimilation progress: 11%]

[Ability unlocked]

[Shadow cloak: User shrouds himself with darkness, allowing him to blend with the darkness and move around undetected]

"Perfect!" Lucien muttered as he gazed at the notifications pilling up.

[-10mp]

Seeing this Lucien couldn't help but frown, tier-one spells only cost around 3 mana points but just a single tier two spell consumed an enormous 10 mana points, and with a mana point of just fifty that meant he can only perform five tier two spells before passing out while hoping those five spells are more than enough to kill the enemy. He found it annoying that one tier two spell cost three times more than a tier-one spell but he new

"Status" Lucien said with a stern look on his face.

[Host: Lucien]

[Race: Beast-man]

[Realm: 2nd sky, Human realm]

[Charisma: 20]

[Hp: 27/30]

[Mana: 34/50]

[Condition: Healthy]

[Exp: 1670]

[Update alert!]

[With the new update it is safe to assume the host has reached the minimum requirement to be called a cultivator and as such the system can no longer strengthen the host through leveling up… The host can only rise in strength through the normal conventional means of other cultivators but do not despair! The system has your back! As longs as the host keep upgrading the system with experience points, more features designed to help the host in his goal to become a celestial being will be unlocked!]

[System upgrade: 1500exp needed]

[Do you wish to update the system?]

Since Lucien's original goal was just to see how much mana he had left, he had long forgotten about the update, so seeing this he was elated and quickly agreed.

[System updating…]

[Congratulations, update successful…]

[System shop now available for Host]

[Reminder: The more updates the system receives, the more items available in the system shop]

"Congratulations? Why say that to me when I'm not the one enjoying the benefits" Lucien frowned at the message.

He sincerely missed the days where he could just increase stat points and get stronger but it seems those days are over. Lucien was about to check out the shop option when he got a warning message!

[Warning!!! Host shadow has been invaded!]

"Invaded?" Lucien was a bit confused but he dared not doubt the system.

Without any hint of hesitation, he dove forward and only felt a slight pain and numbing effect on his back. Rolling on the floor a couple of times, Lucien's facial expression turned stern as he felt an overwhelming aura pouring out of his shadow which was left behind.

[Threat identified…]

[Mutant Black Hush spotted]

"Mutant?" Lucien wasn't new to this term.

A mutant beast is one at the point of breakthrough and only a step away from completely undergoing complete evolution. That means that whatever is hiding within his shadow that was left behind is about to push through the magic beast realm and enter the soldier level.

[Shadow steal successful]

[The Black devil has forcefully taken away the host's shadow, boosting its own power even further! Defeat the black devil to regain your shadow!]

[Host has entered a weakened state since shadow has been stolen!]

[Physical capabilities reduced]

DING!

DING!

DING!

[Threat detected!]

[New quest available!]

[Defeat the black devil]

[Rewards unknown]

….....................

"The Black devil is the soldier-level form of the Black hush… I read about its ability to steal a person's shadow and how it is the bane of so many fighters but I didn't think I will end up experiencing it so soon" Lucien said as he felt his body go numb and his grip on the wind creek sword weaken.

Grrrrrrr!

He heard a growl and he quickly shifted his attention to the shadow and from it, a beast emerged. It was like a black panter but with very look elf-like ears, bright purple eyes, and purple markings all over its body. The black devil had a single horn at the center of its forehead and two tails Wiggling about uncontrollably.

With no time to waste Lucien let go of the shaky dagger in his hands and charged forward fearlessly.

Bam!

Leaping into the air, he promptly summoned three wind blades and launched them at the black devil but the beast showed no sign of fear.

[-3mp]

[Mana: 31/50]

Roar!

Letting out a vicious roar, the horn at the center of its forehead let out a bright purple light before a semi-transculent purple wave spread from its body, shattering the wind blades and smashing into Lucien, sending him flying.

[-6hp]

[Hp 21/30]

Bang!

Lucien was knocked off the air and thrown to the ground violently. His body shivered as he spat out a mouthful of blood while holding his belly.

'Fuck my life!' he muttered in his mind!

Grrrrr!

Suddenly the sound of the enraged beast reached his ears forcing him to jerk up, only to see the mighty paw of the cat covered in dark aura, descending upon him. 

"I have no intentions of dying today!" Lucien growled while his eyes let out a bright silver light!

Wind magic: Wind burst!

Whoosh!

Bang!

A strong gust of wind appeared around Lucien, taking the shape of a dome but the moment the paw of the black devil came in contact with it, the dome shattered as its paw smashed into Lucien's chest while its claws sank into his skin. At this very moment, Lucien felt like all the oxygen in his lungs was sucked out, leaving him gasping for air. His mind was in disarray and even his vision had blurred considerably.

'Am I going to die?' He couldn't help but cry out in his mind.

[Host's life is at risk]

[Commando mode activated…]

[Lightning magic: Rampart]

Bang!

Instantly numerous lightning bolts escaped from Lucien's body creating a mild shockwave that sent the black devil flying back. This gave Lucien enough time to catch his breath before slowly getting on his feet. He soon noticed that the Black devil was also rising to its feet, just a slowly as him! Not daring to continue this battle, Lucien quickly utilized the wind rider spell and dashed out.

[Hp 11/30]

[Mana: 18/50]

Whoosh!

Shooting through the forest Lucien couldn't help but look at his stats, upon seeing how low his mana and health points had gone he let out a bitter smile and cursed his bad luck. He was about to complain but then another notification blocked his screen.

[WARNING!!!]

[The Black devil still has your shadow and is using it to track you…]

Seeing this Lucien's heart skipped a beat but that didn't stop him one bit, he kept speeding through the forest, not caring if he was going in the right direction or not!

Whoosh!

After five minutes or so, Lucien shot out of the thick forest, shooting up what looked like a hill but as he approached he realized it was a dead end, a cliff.

"FUCK MY LIFE!" He cried out this time and turned only to see a shadow shoot out of the forest and from it the black devil emerged.

The thought of giving up came to mind but he just couldn't bring himself to do that to his team! There was no way he was going to let this beast kill him without a fight either.

"A mere magic beast dares challenged me! You must be tired of leaving!" Lucien growled as a tattoo which he didn't notice was on his chest glowed and then his body was engulfed in a cluster of black clouds as he shot forward.

[Shadow cloak activated]

Roar!

Letting out a roar, the black devil lunged forward as well, pouncing on the shadow but upon hitting the black clouds it realized that there was no one in it.

SWOOSH!

[Wind creek dagger summoned]

Lucien who was airborne when this happened promptly summoned his dagger into his hands while utilizing the shift to change his left hand to a talon while the right hand wielded the black dagger.

"Charge, Flow, Roar!" Lucien quickly called out the command words of all the spells stored in the wind creek sword and even went ahead to utilize the only wind creek ability he had unlocked since he assimilated it.

[Wind creek dive activated!]

DING!

[WARNING!!!]

[Host is utilizing too many abilities that place a lot of stress on the body… Using all at once will definitely have a backlash!]

GRRRRR!

The space around Lucien trembled as the dagger in his hand was engulfed by wind and lighting! 

Whoosh!

His body turned into a beam of silver light surrounded by bolts of lightning before shooting down!

BOOM!

The black devil was a little bit slow when reacting as the silver beam smashed into its head, killing it at the spot!