Lucien was walking casually when he suddenly heard a loud howl echoing in the distance—at least 20 kilometers away. Without hesitation, he moved. Using his aura to enhance his speed, he dashed forward. But this speed wasn't ordinary. His sword rank was only at the Adept stage, and his aura was still at the Initiate stage. He had briefly reached the peak of the Master stage, but only for a few minutes—due to the white flame within his body being suppressed, his rank had dropped drastically. And yet, his speed now rivaled that of a Grandmaster.
And in just a minute, Lucien arrived at the location. He saw a group of people surrounding a beast—it looked like they were hunting it. But as Lucien observed the fight more closely, he noticed something strange: the beast wasn't attacking at all. All it did was defend itself. It was as if the beast was protecting something… or someone… from them.
He narrowed his eyes toward the cave, but all he could see was darkness. Channeling his aura into his eyes, his vision sharpened—and then he saw it. Deep within the cave, a faint aura was pulsing. It was coming from an egg… and it was emanating the aura of a Master Stage.
After a few minutes of observing the battle, Lucien noticed that the beast was slowly growing weaker. He was about to step in when he suddenly stopped and looked down. There, lying beneath him, was a body. It wore an expensive long coat—white, elegant, the kind only nobles could afford. Beside it was a matching hat with a veil, clearly meant to conceal someone's face. Without hesitation, Lucien picked up the coat and the veiled hat, then put them on.
After putting them on, Lucien finally stepped in. He emerged from the bushes with the calm grace of a noble who had simply gotten separated from his group.
"Who are you?!" one of the hunters shouted, noticing Lucien as he emerged from the bushes.
All the hunters turned to look at him—curious and wary. Lucien stood there calmly, brushing off dust and leaves from his expensive, long noble coat with his hand, as if he hadn't a care in the world. Their attention was suddenly pulled away by a loud howl from the beast. But the creature didn't attack—it only howled, as if in sorrow or warning. Seeing no immediate threat, the hunters quickly shifted their gaze back to where Lucien had been standing moments before.
They were startled—Lucien was gone. Their eyes darted around, searching for him in confusion. Just then, the beast howled once more. When their gazes snapped back to it, their eyes widened in disbelief. Lucien was standing beside the beast… calmly petting it.
They were socked to what they saw, the beast wasn't attacking the lucien. On the other hand lucien keep petting the beast with gentle.
"You! Who are you?!" shouted the leader of the group hunting the beast, his voice laced with shock and suspicion.
Lucien, on the other hand, didn't answer right away. It was as if he were calmly searching his mind for a name—one he could use in situations like this.
"Vel Kael Draven, a wanderer," Lucien said with a faint smile beneath the shadow of his veiled hat—the name surfacing in his mind like instinct.
"V… Vel Kael Draven?" the group leader echoed, narrowing his eyes. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Lucien gave a calm nod. "No. As I said, I wander."
The leader scoffed and gestured toward the weakened beast. "Then don't meddle. That beast's loot is ours. Stand aside."
Lucien glanced at the beast, then at the dark cave behind it. His eyes softened for a moment—he could feel the faint aura of the egg, still untouched. He took a step forward and placed a gentle hand on the beast's fur. It flinched, but didn't resist.
"I won't," Lucien said firmly. "I'll protect the egg. Go… fight as fiercely as you must. I'll guard what you're trying to save."
The beast turned its weary gaze to him, as if understanding every word. Then, with a final, rumbling breath, it faced the hunters once more—ready to fight until its last breath.
Then Lucien entered the cave. With his aura enhancing his vision, he could see clearly in the dark. As he walked deeper inside, he came across three golden doors—but Lucien didn't spare a glance at the other two. He walked straight toward the one where the egg was.
As he entered the room where the egg was, a torch suddenly lit up. Lucien was surprised by the sight before him. Piles of gold coins filled the room—easily worth over a hundred thousand.
On raised platforms stood five distinct items, each carefully displayed like treasures. And in the center of the room was the egg. It was pitch black, and glowing faintly in its center was a symbol—an emblem of the Abyss, shining with a soft purple light.
Lucien walked straight to the egg. He carefully examined it, then slowly reached out to touch it. The moment his finger made contact, the egg suddenly pricked him—just enough to draw a tiny drop of blood. It dripped onto the surface, and the symbol at the center of the egg began to faintly glow with a soft purple light. Lucien narrowed his eyes, then let out a small smile. "Oh... so you want blood."
Lucien tried to grab the egg, but to his surprise, it didn't prick his hand like it did earlier. Instead, it allowed itself to be lifted without resistance. He gently and casually held it in his arms, then turned his gaze toward the items displayed inside the room.
"Whispering Gale Manual?" Lucien muttered as the first item he noticed turned out to be a sword style manual. He narrowed his eyes at it, examining the details closely, while recalling the item ranks used throughout all of Altheria.
(AN: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Elite, Epic, etc)
"This book is ranked Rare. I could auction it," Lucien muttered, eyeing its condition. But then, a thought surfaced. "No... if I'm using another name, then I should have a sword style that matches it. I'm a wanderer now… and this—this fits. I'll master it for sure."
Then he walked to the second item and picked it up—it was a ring. As soon as he slid it onto his finger, a stream of information surged into his mind. "Hmm? A Spatial Ring... so I can store items inside it. And it's epic rank," Lucien said, surprised by its quality and usefulness.
Lucien placed the egg and the manual inside the ring, then moved to the next item. A sword rested on a sleek stand—its blade slender, curved, and pale like moonlight on still water. It radiated quiet majesty, refined rather than fierce. The moment Lucien's fingers touched the hilt, a stream of knowledge surged into his mind, whispering the sword's name and secrets.
"Whispering Crescent..." Lucien muttered as the name echoed in his mind. "It's Epic Rank again... and it has traits?" He narrowed his eyes, reading deeper into the sword's essence. "Windborne Edge—my strikes will always be smooth, unhindered by resistance.""Silent Gale Draw—I can draw it without a sound... even against steel?" "Elegance Manifested... increases precision and aura control?" Lucien couldn't help but smile. "This sword... it fits me perfectly."