Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 296: Increased Mastery
The next morning,
Jayden’s eyes snapped open. For a moment, he just lay there on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind sluggish and confused. The last thing he remembered was selecting the rank-up option and passing out.
He sat up slowly, blinking away the remnants of sleep. Early morning sunlight was streaming through his window—soft and golden, the kind of light that only existed in the hour just after dawn.
"How long was I out?" he muttered, his voice rough from disuse.
[Eight hours and forty-three minutes] Luna supplied helpfully. [The ranking up finished about an hour ago, but your body needed extra time to stabilize]
Jayden hummed. "I see,"
Just then, the system screen appeared with a notification:
[Rank up Complete]
[Chthonix Gene is now C-Rank]
*Crystals required for next rank: 0/30
[Temporary stat boost during transformation has increased]
Jayden swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He felt... different. Not drastically so, but there were subtle changes. His balance was more centered. His muscles responded with a smoothness that hadn’t been there before.
He raised his hand and focused on the size manipulation ability.
His arm expanded smoothly, growing from normal size to nearly twice its dimensions in less than a second. The transformation was seamless—no pain, no strain, just a smooth transition that felt as natural as breathing.
"I can do it faster now," Jayden observed with satisfaction. He let his arm return to normal size, the shrinking process equally smooth. "And it barely took any stamina."
[That’s the C-Rank enhancement] Luna confirmed. [You might not have received any new abilities, but the ones you already have should have improved in efficiency and effectiveness. Want to test out the matter absorption too?]
"Later," Jayden said, glancing at the clock on his nightstand. 6:47 AM. "Right now, I need to get moving."
He changed quickly into workout clothes—black athletic pants, a gray compression shirt, and running shoes. His body felt good. Energized. Ready to move.
[Wait. Get moving?] Luna asked. [Where are you going?]
"The park," Jayden replied, grabbing his holo-tab and earbuds. "I want to work on..." he paused, a small smile crossing his face, "...something I’ve been meaning to master."
[The fire manipulation?] Luna said.
"Exactly," Jayden exhaled.
But before heading out, he pulled up his status screen, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
*Name: Jayden Starrk
*Race: Werewolf
*Level: 16
*Exp: 3050/6700
*Hp: 780/780
*Ep: 340/340
*Shop points: 2,000,010
*Strength: 192
*Speed: 214
*Agility: 112
*Stamina: 221
*Perception: 83
*Defense: 124
*Charm: 73
*Mastery: 95
Stat points: 130
[Heart Rate: 45 Bpm]
<Skills>
*Health Regeneration [Passive]
*Beastlord Aura [Passive/Active]
*Beast Gene Integration [Active]
*Partial Transformation [Active]
*Dragon Eye [Active]
*Lunar Empowerment [Passive]
<Abilities>
*Beast Energy Acquisition
*Telekinetic Force
*Poison Secretion
*Invisibility
*Enhanced Strength
*Matter Absorption
*Size Manipulation
*Pyrokinesis
<Titles>
*Regent Alpha
One hundred and thirty unallocated points. He’d been hoarding them, waiting for the right moment to spend them strategically.
This was that moment.
His gaze was fixed on the Mastery stat. It was one of his lowest attribute by far—most of his points had gone into the physical stats that kept him alive in combat.
But Mastery controlled something crucial: how quickly he learned and refined abilities. How efficiently he could use his powers.
If he wanted to unlock pyrokinesis today, he needed every advantage he could get.
Jayden let out a deep breath. "Put 50 stat points into mastery."
[+50 Mastery]
[Warning: Significant stat increase detected. Minor neural adaptation required]
A sharp tingling sensation spread through Jayden’s skull, like pins and needles but localized to his brain. He gritted his teeth, riding it out. After a few seconds, the sensation faded, replaced by a strange clarity—like someone had turned up the resolution on his thoughts.
[Mastery: 145]
[Woah, that’s a lot of mastery] Luna said, and there was surprise in her voice. [You’ll be able to learn innate skills and abilities twice as fast]
"Good," Jayden replied. "That’s what I was counting on."
[Is this what you’ve been planning] Luna asked. [Boosting Mastery to help unlock the fire manipulation?"]
"Part of it," Jayden confirmed, pulling on his running shoes. "But there’s more."
Then he slipped out of his room, moving quietly through the still-sleeping house. He left a brief note on the kitchen counter—Gone for morning run, back for breakfast—and headed out into the cool dawn air. He’d left a note this time so the family won’t worry about him.
The city was just beginning to wake up. Street lights were clicking off one by one. A few early commuters trudged toward transit stations. Delivery drones hummed overhead on their routes.
Jayden started jogging, settling into an easy rhythm that ate up distance without burning through his stamina.
After running for a while, the park’s entrance came into view. At this hour, it was nearly empty except for a few dedicated early-morning fitness enthusiasts.
Jayden completed his daily quests first... climbed a tree and lifted a bench, and received his rewards.
Then he moved to an empty grass field, dropped into a stretching routine, and while his muscles lengthened and loosened, his mind turned to the real challenge of the morning.
Fire manipulation. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
The ability he’d absorbed from the Ancient Sabertooth Flare but hadn’t been able to activate yet.
[You have a plan] Luna observed. [I can tell by how excited you are]
"I do," Jayden confirmed, finishing his stretches and standing in the center of the field.
Then he let out a slow exhale. "Luna, what’s the fundamental requirement for using an elemental ability?"
[Understanding the element] Luna recited. [Building a connection to it. Visualizing and willing it into existence]
"Exactly. Visualization and will." Jayden raised his hand, palm up. "I’ve been trying to manifest fire through pure mental force. Just... wanting it to exist. But that’s not how it works."
Luna hummed. [So how do you want to go about it?] she asked in curiosity.
Jayden smirked. "I have to ignite it... like a literal matchstick."
