Balberius [1]

The Northern Duchy had a population of nearly a million people, but at this moment, it had turned into a genuine slaughterhouse, where nothing remained but cries for help and the smell of blood and ash filling the air.

For a mere Silver Dormant like Lloyd Amora, killing ordinary people was child's play; slaughtering them took no effort at all. Unfortunately for him, he didn't receive a single [Blood Point].

At that moment, on top of a distant mountain, 5 kilometers from the battlefield, a powerful old man noticed something strange.

His expression changed suddenly.

He turned to the guard beside him and issued a stern command.

"Quickly! Organize the army… something unnatural is happening on the northern front. We move as fast as possible!"

This old man was no ordinary person, but one of the great generals of the kingdom, tasked with protecting the Northern Duchy. Even so, he sensed something was terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, the bloodflame dragons spread in every direction.

Screams filled the air, houses collapsed, and fires consumed everything.

No one knew why this was happening, and no one understood why this young man was attacking the kingdom's citizens!

The kingdom was already at war; they had no idea where this bloody butcher had come from to suddenly attack them from behind, like a monster crawling out of the depths of hell.

The massacre continued for hours before a deadly silence fell. No birds sang, no breaths could be heard, only the stench of death filled the air.

Nothing was left but a 16-year-old boy, standing amidst the corpses, collecting severed heads in a grotesque manner.

It was Lloyd.

Using his ability to manipulate flame and blood, he formed chains of fire, linking the heads of soldiers and citizens together. He then raised them into the sky, keeping the flame low enough so the heads wouldn't turn to ash.

Finally, using the burnt corpses, he formed a giant, glowing message written in their midst.

"CONTINENT... WELCOME THE DESCENT OF SELENIUM'S SCION!"

"AND PERSONALLY... THE EMPEROR, LLOYD AMORA."

Moments of silence followed the declaration before the sky trembled with a massive thunderclap, as if the world itself shuddered before that name.

****

As morning dawned, the royal army finally reached the Northern Duchy. But the moment they laid eyes on the horrific scene before them, their faces turned pale, and their legs began to tremble in terror.

This was not a battlefield… it was an open grave. Charred bodies were scattered everywhere, severed heads dangled from chains of flame, and the ground was still saturated with blood.

"What happened here?!"

one of the captains screamed, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white.

The old general froze in place, his eyes staring into the void, before collapsing to his knees.

"Llo… Lloyd…" he stammered in a trembling voice, as if the mere utterance of the name was a curse in itself.

But his fear wasn't just of this new name that had appeared so suddenly.

It was of something much worse… the King himself.

How could he face his king and tell him he had failed to protect the Northern Duchy?

That an entire city had been annihilated in a single night, and no one could stop it?

Suddenly, amidst the chilling silence, a soldier screamed, making everyone turn to him at once.

"Sir! We've found the bodies of the Blackbird Kingdom's army!"

The old man's eyes widened in shock.

"What?!"

"All 2,000 of their soldiers have been completely wiped out… here!"

Utter disbelief swept through the ranks. How could an entire army be annihilated like this? Who did this? And who was the real enemy in this battle?

The old general couldn't believe what he was hearing, his mind struggling to comprehend the situation, but the scene before him defied all logic.

"The enemy was also killed? What in the hell is going on?!"

His thoughts began to tangle. Suddenly, after moments of deep thought, he realized the horrifying truth.

His features changed, and he screamed in a shaky voice, "A third party! An unknown power interfered here! The Selenium Empire or something… Damn it, I've never heard that name before!"

"Withdraw!"

Without another thought, the general gave his orders, and the army of 10,000 knights retreated in dismay, burdened with fear and shock.

It was like a living nightmare, and their expressions were like those of a child seeing a murder for the first time.

But the truth was far more gruesome.

News of the annihilation of a quarter of a kingdom spread like wildfire, and with every telling, the accompanying terror grew.

This wasn't just the fall of a pivotal city and the capital of an entire duchy. It was a declaration—the arrival of something new, something the continent had never witnessed before.

And at the heart of it all, there was one name whispered in the shadows, a name that made rulers tremble and whose echo amplified the dread…

Lloyd Amora.

The one who came from nowhere, but had left his mark carved in blood and fire upon the heart of the continent's history.

[Quest Complete!]

Meanwhile, Lloyd had ventured deep into the Demon Beast Forest, where he began hunting everything that moved to raise his level.

As he walked, he noticed several system messages that he had ignored during the massacre.

[Congratulations! The Host has broken through twice in a row in less than half an hour.]

[The System can now upgrade to Version 1.2 for free.]

[The Host has achieved an unprecedented feat! The survival mission was completed perfectly!]

[You have received a tripled 'Gift Pack'!]

He opened the gift pack with little interest, but his eyes suddenly widened in shock.

[Gift 1: "Thunder Pulse" Spell (Unranked?)]

[Gift 2: A comprehensive map of the continent.]

[Gift 3: 10,000 Gold.]

But that wasn't all…

[The seal on the "Reflection World" has been removed!]

Lloyd didn't understand what was happening, so he asked the system for an explanation.

["The Reflection World" is a world linked to the Host's body, a large, independent realm in an undiscovered dimension of the void.]

[The Host can enter it and gain special privileges.]

"Damn! A private world?!"

In that moment, he realized this system was anything but ordinary.

"Well, who am I kidding? Of course, it would be this miraculous. Otherwise, how could I possibly face Millennium alone?"

From the memories injected into his mind by the "Child of the Legacy" trait, Lloyd knew he could acquire an almost unlimited number of pocket dimensions and secret realms, even simulating them within the "Reflection World."

This wasn't just a normal world; it was more like an entire galactic kingdom under his absolute control!

Not only that, but he could also purchase a staggering number of spells, rare items, legendary martial arts, advanced medicinal pills, and other things that no one in this world could even dream of.

In other words, he had just acquired the very foundation upon which an empire could be built.

"Good; the cheat has to be on this level, at least."

He knew he needed to raise his power quickly and intelligently, because he still didn't know who his real enemy was… or if there were even any friends or other players in this world.

He smirked wryly.

Now, he turned his attention to that "Unranked" spell.

As a game developer, Lloyd knew almost everything about the ranks of skills and magic spells, from one star up to ten stars.

Were there ranks higher than that? Of course, why not? After all, nothing about this game was normal anymore.

"'Unranked' grade? Huh? Interesting."

[Spell: Thunder Pulse (Fragmented)]

[Type: Active (Growth-Type)]

[Rank: Unranked (★)]

[Level: 1]

[Current Mastery: 0.0%]

[Description: The "Thunder Pulse" spell is an integrated skill from the ancient era. It allows the user to focus the essence of lightning around their body, achieving superhuman speed, immense destructive power, and unparalleled defense!

The more mastery the user gains, the more their very nature transforms into that of a being of pure, volcanic thunder, transcending human limits!]

Lloyd stared at the description for a long moment, then a dangerous smile spread across his face.

"Hah… another skill that grows with me? As if I needed another reason to become a monster!"

He had no idea how powerful this skill would be at its peak, but he was sure of one thing.

"I will utterly destroy this game!"

Immediately after, Lloyd transformed into a bolt of crimson lightning and vanished from his spot in an instant, rocketing forward like a streaking arrow.

But he couldn't fully control his speed, causing him to crash through numerous giant trees in his path, carving a terrifying path of destruction that stretched for over a kilometer in a straight line.

When he finally stopped, his body was covered in deep wounds, blood seeping from his pores, leaving him breathing heavily.

"Damn it! I almost killed myself…!"

He couldn't adapt to his own speed and ended up causing this disaster. But instead of feeling frustrated, he started laughing manically.

"Heh… what an idiot I am! But… this is awesome! This spell is insanely powerful!"

Lloyd knew full well that he was still weak compared to the members of the great sects or beings from other worlds, but he had no intention of staying weak for long.

So, he decided to begin a hellish training regimen, using all his energy to collect Red Blood Points by killing the awakened soldiers of the two kingdoms and devouring their Records of Origin.

Then exchanging the points for gold to buy powerful and rare items that could help him even in the distant future.

Red Blood Points weren't awarded equally; they depended on the power difference between him and his opponent.

The stronger the enemy, the more points he received.

Killing weaker foes barely gave him a fraction, which drove him to constantly hunt more dangerous enemies. So far, he had only gotten a quarter of what he could from killing them, but he attributed that to the power gap.

He wasn't the type to waste his resources on temporary things he would soon replace; he preferred to invest in permanent power that would allow him to surpass all his opponents, no matter how strong they were.

And so, his first training journey began in the depths of the Northern Darkwood… but for him, this was only the beginning.