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The cave stood in eerie silence, its once vibrant surroundings now overtaken by the slow but persistent grip of nature. The entrance, which once teemed with activity, is now half-hidden beneath thick, curling vines and moss that have crept in from the surrounding forest. The rocks that framed the cave's mouth are weathered, their sharp edges softened by the passage of time, with traces of bloodstains still faintly visible on the stone, long dried and forgotten. A few broken bones lie scattered around the area, evidence of the violence that claimed the lives of the cave's former residents.
The ground around the cave is littered with remnants of their existence: Broken weapons—crudely fashioned spears, battered shields, and jagged knives—are half-buried in the earth. The rusted iron from abandoned traps and crude tools hints at a sudden, violent end with all decaying in the wet earth.The faint smell of rot clings to the air, mingling with the damp, earthy scent of the forest that has begun to reclaim the land. There was few signs of animal life in the immediate area, perhaps a sign that even the local creatures sense the unnatural stillness of the place.
The surrounding forest seems to have grown thicker, the trees now standing tall and close, casting long shadows over the entrance as if to hide it from the world. The air is thick with humidity, and the oppressive quiet feels unnatural, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves or the distant call of a bird. The cave is no longer a home, but a forgotten place of death, where time itself seems to stand still, holding onto the remnants of a lost history.
Deep inside the cave, something was laying there. The one responsible for the annihilation of the goblins tribe was currently sleeping. He sustained some severe injuries six months ago and had to slumber for them to repair themselves. Seated on his throne, enveloped by his wings as if in a cocoon. The room was pretty dark, only illuminated by the blue stalactites.
A sound soon disturbed the peaceful scene as the demon breathing's became irregular. At the same time, not too far from him, a core was floating in the air and when the demon's breathing showed irregularities, the core suddenly ignited as mana flowed through him also augmenting the intensity of the light coming from the stalactites.
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The cave suddenly trembled, as if an old monster was waking up, the moss and cobwebs were quickly dispatched and the big rock obscuring the entrance from the view of others fell on the ground. Mana circulated around the cave, mending the erosions caused by time, as soon enough a subtile suction was applied to the mana of the surroundings, drawing it towards the lair as it revitalized the structure.
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Balthazar laid dormant. His form, long abandoned in his lair, was now surrounded by the hum of barely contained energy. For six months, he had rested—his body broken, his essence fractured from the fusion—but the connection with the dungeon system had not been entirely severed. It was incomplete, yes, but the fusion itself had been a success. His body had withstood the unimaginable strain of merging with an otherworldly force, and now he was something different—something more.
The first sensation that returned to him was clarity. His senses, once dulled by the passage of time and the damage sustained from the process, sparked back to life, sharp and vivid. His eyes snapped open, glowing with an unnatural intensity as the system's arcane power pulsed through him, its data lapping at his consciousness like an untamed current. His demonic instincts screamed, trying to adjust to the presence of this new, foreign force weaving through his veins, but there was no pain. No lingering discomfort. It was no longer an invasive presence, but a part of him—woven into his very being.
His wings twitched, crackling with the residual energy of the fusion, their once-frayed edges now humming with a latent power. The system, though imperfect in its union with him, had enhanced him—amplified his power to levels that were almost beyond comprehension. But he could feel it—he could feel the threads of the connection that had not yet fully woven together. There were gaps, unstable fluctuations in his power that would need time to stabilize but he could work on that.
A low growl rumbled in his throat as Balthazar rose, his form stretching and creaking as if his body had been reassembled with unfamiliar parts. He looked down at his claws, which now glowed with the faintest trace of mana—raw and pulsing with potential. His wings, though not as strong as they had once been, were still vast, and the faint traces of glowing symbols flickered across his skin in patterns he had never seen before, a byproduct of the system's influence.
The power coursing through him was palpable. The fusion had given him access to knowledge—patterns, data, and logic that existed beyond the bounds of his current rank. But it was fragmented, disjointed, as if it had been thrust into his mind before it could fully integrate. There was still much to learn, but his strength was undeniable.
The lair seemed to echo with the vibrations of his awakening. The ancient stone walls trembled as his senses reached out, pulling the world around him into sharp focus. The scent of the outside world was faint, carried on the winds. He could feel the pulse of life, the energies of those in the surroundings. And with a flick of his clawed hand, he could almost sense the ebb and flow of the very magic that ran through the air, a power that now belonged to him through the system.
Slowly, his talons scraped the stone floor, the faint glow of the system's energy tracing through his body as he stepped forward.
"Dammit, I feel so powerful" he murmured, his voice rusted as he hasn't use it much. "Man, it's giving me the itch, I need to test this out."
Turning around, he quickly checked the lair of his core. Notifications appeared before him.
[You have woken up, all soul damages has been healed.]
[ Lair functionalities still unavailable. They will be back after two days. Time remaining 47h:56mn 11s]
" Well, I guess I have the time to pay the forest a visit"
With a final, deliberate step, he moved toward the entrance of his lair. The incomplete fusion had given him an edge—an edge that, once fully realized, would make progress faster than others. Even though the system was shady, its motives still unknown, he knew that he benefitted tremendously from it.
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" BOOM", a goblin was blown away, his body hitting the trees as it stayed in the same place, dead. Baaz quickly spun around avoiding the rusty knife of the other one. He was exploring the forest when he met a group of goblins. Not of the ones that actually pursued him but after his traumatic experience with them, he did surely hate those things. He actively killed them, not realizing that they themselves were stalked by three wolves. But as they didn't appear aggressive he let them be. They actually ran away.
He was actually on a mission to map the surroundings of his territory. The [ Map territory] skill, a skill that he gained through the intervention of the system which actually help him by allowing to have a definite map that he could use to move around. He has actually mapped the outer periphery of his his lair now he was going to explore the inner part of the forest.
[ Fire Magic Mastery] [ Fireball], a ball of fire quickly materialized and disposed of the goblins that tried to outnumber him. It seemed that there was a lot of monsters in the inner forest as he even met some monsters that he identified as kobolds. They also seemed afraid of him. He was craving for a fight as after his forced slumber he felt so powerful that he wanted to know his limits. But unfortunately for now, he had to blindly keep going as he did not have a master. He was currently walking when his [ Map territory] skill acted up. He focused on it and there they were. A dozen of points were currently approaching him. They were stealthy enough that he would have missed them if the skill hadn't notified him of their presence. He stopped and back out, careful to not let himself be surrounded. And while now he was on his guard, he started picking up some discreet sound that he would have clearly missed otherwise. A nerve-wracking silence suddenly descended on the place. As even the delicate brushing of the leaves stopped. In the map, he saw the points converge and quickly started to advance, he couldn't help to notice that three stayed behind. Those were the biggest ones . Suddenly they appeared and this time they came prepared.
The wolves appeared, emerging from the shadows like phantoms, their eyes glowing with hunger and malice. Their coats were matted, dark as the night, and their fangs gleamed white. They quickly spread out and circled him, their growls low and guttural. They were close to Baaz's level as the bigger one seemed to be level 65. A quick identify informed him that they were Black wolves. And for a moment no party moved. The stare down stayed for a good moment before it was broken by the wolves.
Name:- Balthazar
Race:- Demon Baronet
Class: True Berserker
Titles:- ????,????,????,????,Noble
Level:- 53
Stats-
HP:- 260 (1.5) --> 390
MP:- 170 (1.5) -->255
Strength:- 78 (1.5) --> 117
Defence:- 260 (1.5) --> 390
Agility:- 75 (1.5) --> 113
Magic:- 44 (1.5) --> 66
Endurance:- 152 (1.5) --> 228
Luck:- 500
Skills:- [Language Comprehension],[inspect],[Fire Magic Mastery],[Electro Magic Mastery],[Leap Attack],[Strike], [Berserk] .
Unique skills:- [Map territory]
Inherent Skills:- [Lair Creation], [Locked], [Locked],[Locked]