CHAPTER 165: NOT SAFE

He drew the blade, let the surge creep just along the edge. The nearest attacker darted forward, fast, but sloppy in form.

Lucen stepped to the side, blade snapping out in a short arc. The hum of the surge cut through the man’s weapon like wet paper.

The second was already coming in. Lucen twisted, low sweep with the blade, mana flared, and the attacker’s leg buckled under the impact.

The third tried a lunge from behind. Lucen felt the system’s sync click, like his body moved half a second before his mind caught up.

He spun, elbow striking back, catching the man under the chin, then brought the flat of the sword across his temple.

All three hit the ground in the space of a breath.

The system pinged again.

[Hybrid Combat Logged | Form Efficiency: +7% | Neural Sync Speed: +0.2]

Lucen grinned. "Now we’re talking."

—

He glanced toward the warehouse doors. They were slightly ajar, and from inside came a faint pulse of red light.

He rolled his shoulders, adjusted his grip, and stepped inside.

The Rift was there, hovering in the middle of the grain floor, a vertical wound in the air, edges lined with black and crimson light. The mana pressure was stronger here, like standing next to a forge vent.

Lucen exhaled, steady. "Alright. Let’s close you before you spit out more friends."

The system brought up the Rift protocol, a diagram of mana flows, the sequence for cutting the edges and sealing the breach.

He stepped forward, blade low, letting mana curl around it, not full surge, just steady.

The Rift shivered.

From inside, something moved.

—

The Rift warped like glass under heat.

A deep, vibrating growl rolled out, shaking dust from the rafters.

Lucen tightened his grip on the sword. ’That’s not C-rank.’

The tear in the air widened, black light streaking through the red. A shape pushed through, first a claw, each talon longer than Lucen’s forearm, hooked and slick with something that hissed when it hit the floor.

The second claw followed. Then a head.

It looked like something that had been built wrong on purpose, jagged, plated hide like overlapping shards of obsidian, eyes burning with a molten glow.

Its jaw split wider than it should have, teeth uneven and too many, each one glinting like metal.

The monster stepped fully out, shoulders scraping the edges of the Rift. It stood nearly three times Lucen’s height, legs bent like a predator ready to spring. The air around it rippled from the mana pouring off its body.

The system flashed.

[Entity Class: Rift Apex]

[Threat Assessment: High A / Low S]

[Warning: Elevated Mana Density | Extended Combat Not Recommended]

Lucen’s jaw flexed. "Yeah, no kidding."

The creature’s gaze locked on him. For a second, it just breathed, the sound like a furnace roaring in his ears. Then it moved.

The floor cracked under its first step, then the second. On the third, it was already closing the distance, claws sweeping low in a killing arc.

Lucen ducked, the tip of a talon catching his shoulder, not deep, but enough to rip fabric and sting. He rolled to the side, coming up with the sword raised, letting a thin layer of mana surge coat the blade.

’Fast for its size.’

The beast roared again, the sound vibrating in his chest, and swung the other claw downward. Lucen caught it on the blade, impact like slamming into a wall. He skidded back three full meters, boots scraping the dusty floor.

The system pinged.

[Structural Integrity of Weapon: Stable]

[User Stamina Drain: Moderate]

The beast didn’t give him a second to breathe, it lunged, head snapping forward, jaws opening wide.

Lucen sidestepped, barely clearing the bite. The teeth slammed shut where he’d been standing, a metallic crunch ringing in his ears.

He swung upward, blade catching the underside of its jaw, sparks and mana burst, the surge biting through a chunk of the hide.

The monster reeled back, snarling, a molten glow leaking from the wound.

Lucen smirked despite himself. "Not so untouchable, huh?"

It answered by slamming a claw down hard enough to crater the floor. Lucen jumped back, but the shockwave hit, rattling his teeth.

[Environmental Hazard Detected | Stability of Structure: 62%]

Lucen exhaled sharply, shifting his stance. ’Alright... let’s see if the training pays off.’

The creature crouched low, weight shifting.

Lucen mirrored, blade angled forward, surge humming faintly.

The Rift behind the monster pulsed, sending a faint wave of mana across the room. Lucen felt the hair on his arms rise.

’It’s drawing more from the Rift... which means it’s only going to get stronger.’

The beast’s eyes narrowed, and then—

It vanished in a blur.

—

The monster was just, gone.

Lucen’s eyes caught a flicker of motion on the left, and his body moved before his head could think.

The claw slammed down where he’d been, splitting stone like paper. Chips of rock and molten residue flew past his face.

’Faster than me? Oh, that’s—fun.’

He pushed mana into his legs, the surge burning up through his calves, and sprang backward. The creature didn’t hesitate, it wheeled around, jaws snapping again.

Lucen raised the blade and met the bite head-on, surge flaring as teeth scraped against steel. The force drove him back a full meter before he twisted the blade free and ducked low.

The system pinged.

[Spell-Surge Output: 41%]

[Warning: Continuous strain may cause instability]

"Not now," Lucen muttered, shoving a wave of flame down the blade. The edge burned bright, orange bleeding into white.

He swung. The arc of fire cracked against the monster’s hide, cutting deep this time, mana hissed out of the wound like steam under pressure.

The thing screamed, a high, grating sound that made Lucen’s teeth ache. Its tail whipped around, a tail he hadn’t even noticed before, catching him square across the ribs.

He hit the wall hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs.

’Okay... note to self... tail.’

He rolled away just before the claw came down, shattering the section of wall where his head had been. Dust filled the air, heat pulsing from the Rift behind it.

Lucen coughed once, adjusted his grip, and darted in low. If it could out-speed him, he’d cut in under its swings.

The blade slid along one of the monster’s forelegs, leaving a glowing mark where mana ate at the hide.

The creature recoiled, then slammed both claws down at once. Lucen caught one, dodged the other, and kicked off its knee joint to land on its back.

’Big target. Big mana. Means big weak points.’

The system pulsed.

[Opportunity Detected: Mana Node — Upper Spine]

"Got it."

He drove the blade down. Surge and flame ripped through the hide, biting deep into the monster’s spine. It howled and bucked violently, throwing Lucen into the air.

He twisted mid-fall, landed in a crouch, and immediately had to roll again as the tail smashed into where he’d been.

Sweat burned his eyes, his chest tight from the effort.

The monster crouched, lower now, injured but still lethal. Its eyes burned hotter than before, whatever pain he’d given it had just turned into rage.

The Rift pulsed again.

Lucen’s system pinged fast, too fast.

[Warning: Entity’s mana level rising | Threat classification updated: High S]

Lucen straightened, breath coming in sharp pulls. ’Great. Because this wasn’t already a bad idea.’

The monster’s claws dug into the floor. Muscles bunched under its plated hide.

Lucen adjusted his stance, surge buzzing in his arms, blade trembling in anticipation.

Then it charged.

—

It moved like a landslide with teeth.

The sound alone, claws tearing stone, air ripping apart around its charge, pinned Lucen’s heartbeat into overdrive. He barely managed to angle the blade before the monster was on him.

The impact rattled through his bones.

He skidded backward, sparks spitting from the edge where fang met steel. His boots caught on cracked tile, stopping him just shy of the Rift’s molten edge.

"Too close," he hissed.

The monster pulled back, tail curling like a scorpion’s stinger. Lucen’s system pinged.

[Prediction: Tail strike incoming — Left arc]

[Probability: 91%]

Lucen ducked under the whip, blade snapping up to cut into it as it passed. A deep gash tore through the scaled flesh. The monster’s roar made the air quake.

’Good. Feel that.’

He darted forward, steps light, mana feeding straight into his muscles now. The sword hummed with the surge, the flame hugging its edge like it belonged there.

The monster swiped low. Lucen vaulted over the claw, twisting mid-air, and drove the blade down toward the upper joint of its arm.

A jolt ran up the blade, mana resisting mana. It didn’t pierce as deep this time.

[Resistance detected: Internal mana shielding]

[Recommendation: Output increase beyond current threshold]

Lucen’s grip tightened. "Yeah... I figured."

He’d been holding back. Not because he wanted to, because the system still liked screaming warnings at him whenever he pushed past "safe."

But this wasn’t safe anyway.