If he had learned one thing from his last encounter with the Beasts he fought against in his void walk, it was that no matter how much someone trains, they will never reach their full potential if they are not fighting real battles. Ones that could threaten their lives and make them exceed all expectations.
He wanted to break his limits and shatter all the walls that stood before him, and to do so, he would have to fight on his own rather than fighting while knowing there was someone behind him with enough power to turn his enemy into dust at the snap of their fingers.
Countless minutes passed and an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Lloyd had followed the trail his watch had told him, but what confused him was how he was continually being led towards the suburbs and in a direction that only had 3 well-known dungeons.
Eventually, Lloyd found himself standing in front of an abandoned hospital, and even though he was skeptical, he did not think twice before stepping forward and entering it while moving toward the source of the energy fluctuations.
After reaching the 6th floor, his eyes moved about and finally landed on something unbelievable...
"An unauthorized dungeon!? How could no one have realized that there was something like this here? Tha mana fluctuations are more than enough evidence, yet no one came here? This is dangerous, but..." An uneasy grin appeared on Lloyd's face as he finally seemed to understand something.
"It must be the runes that hacked into the watch... Not only did it change my profile screen, but it also made it so I could see dungeon portals from miles away... Now all I have to do is survive this, leave, survive against my parents, and s-s-sleep..." Another shudder went down his spine.
He did not have to think twice about what he was about to do. He stood unmovingly in front of the portal that, according to his wristwatch, was not even a 1st commandment dungeon.
Stepping through, the portal shimmered for a moment before rippling, and in the end, Lloyd disappeared into the portal without leaving a trace.
[You have entered a dungeon]
The message shone onto Lloyd's face from his wristwatch, yet it was the least of his worries.
His eyes darted around, and he quickly looked at the sky.
The scenery before him was otherwordly. Greenery littered the area and could be found everywhere, while not a single sign of technology could be seen for miles. It was as if he had landed on another world, yet he quickly reminded himself that this was nothing but a dungeon.
Instantly, every hair on his body shot up, and he stood straight and alert. His eyes darted from side to side as if trying to find the thing that was going to threaten his life, and not for a second did he dare let his guard down.
This dungeon might not have a commandment, but the same case could be used against him. No matter what creature he was, he was still without a commandment and therefore put on the same level as the creatures of this dungeon.
Making sure to not make a sound, he took out a short katana blade a little longer than his forearm. The wristwatch flashed blue for a few moments but quickly subsided, and no monster was alerted.
'I need to get stronger, so my primary objective isn't to kill the dungeon boss monsters but to kill and train with as many monsters as possible.'
With that thought, he moved through the forest-like dungeon with extreme caution, and after around 15 minutes of walking endlessly, he finally found something worth killing.
'An insect dungeon?' He thought to himself and was reminded of how he had learned about all the types of dungeons that could show up.
This was an insect dungeon, and this was something anyone could easily conclude by simply looking at the creatures that were found inside.
Lloyd raised his left hand and pointed his wristwatch at the creature in front of me. A translucent blue light came out of the watch and scanned the creature from head to toe, and after a few seconds, the light disappeared, and a new notification appeared on the watch.
[You have discovered a Wasparitica]
By scanning monsters, one could rack up points on their records and be considered useful to society the more point they have. The system was a bit complicated for even the likes of Lloyd, who barely understood a fraction of how everything worked, but all he needed to know was that he could scan monsters and get points.
However, while doing so, the monster felt his intense gaze and looked at him plainly, and after a few seconds of both of them registering what just happened, the Wasparitica didn't pull any punches and immediately attacked Lloyd with his stinger, going for the killing blow from the start.
Lloyd, on the other hand, was not idle either. His hand moved quickly, and in an instant, his katana blade cut through the air and clashed with the stinger, pushing them both back by several meters.
Lloyd slid on the muddy floor but did not lose footing while the wasp flew into the air and tried to relocate for its next strike.
'Wasparitica's are known for their speed and viciousness. Even if I leave now, it will follow me to the ends of the world and continue the attempt to take my life.' Lloyd nodded at himself and tried to think of a solution.
He was not an expert when it came to fast-moving creatures, but one thing he knew was that despite a wasp being fast, it was far from being anything like a dragonfly that could easily move around and change its momentum at a moment's notice.
The wasp instantly relocated to Lloyd's blind spot and shot toward him at whistling speeds.
He could feel the wasp come closer by the second, but he continued to be calm despite feeling death approach him at a speed he would barely have the ability to follow.
However, his will had been tempered in less than 6 hours of him staying in the void the night before, and so the pressure the wasp gave off was nothing compared to the pressure any of the void beasts gave off.
10 meters...
His breaths became shallow.
5 meters...
He could feel the stinger's sharpness and already began shifting his weight to his heel.
4 meters...
He took a deep breath and held it in, ready to launch an explosive strike to slice down all his enemies.
2.5 meters.
The wind pressure could not be felt on the back of his neck, and he knew it was time to move.
With a sudden movement, he used all his weight and speed to spin on his heel and completely remove himself from the attack's trajectory. The wasp on the side of a child's bicycle also seemed to realize what was happening, yet it had already put all its speed and momentum into the strike, making all its wings flapping completely useless.
0.5 Meters...
The monster was right in front of him; he had already struck down with all the power he could muster. His mind had gotten so into the battle that he completely forgot about his abilities, but it was better if he didn't use them in a life or death situation since he knew that a single mistake could end with him dead.
His blade reached the head of the wasp, and before it could realize what had happened, the blade reflected in its eyes and sliced through its head.
Lloyd could feel resistance push against his blade, but he quickly grits his teeth and sliced right through, detaching its head from the rest of its body.
Blood splattered all over the floor, and Lloyd finally sighed relief.
He had done it... He had killed his first real-life monster, and the adrenaline that rushed through his veins was more than intoxicating.
However, there was something distinct about the sensation. It was as if his body was being filled with energy while invigorating energy ran throughout every cell in his body.
He was growing stronger...
'What is this... Feeling?' The katana returned to his watch, and his eyes widened slightly. He could not believe what he was feeling, but he quickly remembered why Void walkers were creatures that terrified almost every being in the universe.
'Is this what they called the Void Walker's Blessing?'
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