SSS Rank: Spellcraft Sovereign-Chapter 129: Attribute Training (1)

The air outside the rift gate still carried that post-dungeon sharpness, like cold iron just pulled from water. It stung in the lungs, thin and charged, a flavor only runners knew. Most people would be gasping, crashing, or at least sitting down.

Lucen barely had the strength to complain.

But he still tried.

They stepped out onto the cracked concrete lot behind the outpost. No crowd. Just dull lights overhead, half-dead fixtures buzzing, and a mana vent whining like an old kettle.

Lucen’s shoulders slumped. His coat was half-zipped, still streaked with dried blood and mana soot.

He blinked hard.

Then dragged one hand down his face.

"Okay," he said. "So. That was a secret-level rift. We lived. Congrats. Can I die now?"

Varik didn’t slow his stride. "No."

"Right. Because resting’s for people who don’t get surprise-punched by magical Leviathans."

Varik came to a stop near a training circle etched into the stone, faded, but still viable. He turned around, arms crossed.

"You need to push your limit while your body remembers what a fight felt like. Otherwise it resets."

Lucen stopped three steps back.

Then squinted.

"...That’s not how muscles work."

Varik raised an eyebrow. "Did I say muscles?"

Lucen pointed at him. "See, that’s how I know I’m not going to enjoy this."

"Good. Step in."

Lucen stayed exactly where he was.

His system pinged gently behind his eyes. Still processing rewards. Still recovering mana.

’One day I’m gonna charge him for this.’

He sighed and stepped into the circle.

Varik pulled his coat off again and dropped it on a half-broken bench nearby.

"You’re not fighting me this time."

Lucen brightened for half a second.

Then—

"You’re fighting them."

A motion behind.

Lucen turned his head.

Four dummies stood where empty space had been. Not cloth and straw, these were training constructs. Reinforced. Tall. Armored. Mana cores burning in their chests. Tiered defense values. Auto-reactive programming.

Lucen stared at them like someone just handed him a math test on his birthday.

"Where the hell did you pull those from?"

Varik said, "Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to."

Lucen looked back at the constructs. Then forward at Varik. Then back at the constructs.

Finally, he muttered, "This feels targeted."

Varik didn’t respond.

The training dummies shifted into stance.

One raised a practice blade.

Lucen cracked his knuckles, rotated one shoulder again, and whispered, "Fine. Let’s see if your little mana puppets like fire."

He flared [Ignition Burst] at the feet of the closest one and slid sideways, letting the flames blind while he slipped behind it. He tossed [Soundlash] toward the far dummy to scatter its response pattern.

Two flinched.

One didn’t.

It launched forward, blade swinging low and hard.

Lucen backstepped, pulled a short [Threadmask] to double himself, then circled left again and hit the charging dummy with a mid-range [Shockweave Bolt].

It stuttered.

Dropped.

Lucen grinned. "That’s one."

Varik, from the edge of the circle: "Too slow."

Lucen groaned. "Bro, I just killed a leviathan. Let me breathe."

The third dummy went full speed. Lucen ducked, dropped [Crater Bloom] under it, too early. It jumped back. Counter-cast.

Lucen muttered, "Oh come on, who gave it jump logic—"

The last dummy flanked right, caught him off guard. Blade slammed into his shoulder hard enough to trigger a [Pain Resistance] alert from the system.

Lucen winced, spun, cast [Null Reversal] to throw the kinetic backlash forward.

The dummy flew into the first.

Both down.

Varik didn’t even blink. "You’re dragging your left side."

Lucen turned, flipped him off with two fingers, and cast [Burn Logic] across the circle just to make a point.

It flared loud. Dazzling. Wasted on the last dummy but it felt good.

System: [Mana: 42 / 112]

Lucen staggered forward, hands on his knees.

"Done."

Varik tilted his head. "Are you asking or telling?"

Lucen glanced sideways, chest still heaving. "Telling. I’m not gonna phrase it politely."

Varik walked forward, looked at the fallen constructs. Studied how they landed. How they fell apart.

He finally nodded once. "Better chaining. Still wasting energy mid-pivot."

Lucen straightened. "Do I get a gold star?"

"No," Varik said. "You get dinner."

Lucen blinked.

Then perked up. "Wait, real food?"

Varik smirked. "You earned it."

Lucen pumped one tired fist. "Finally."

Then he added under his breath, ’Now watch it be rations and hot water.’

Varik looked over. "What was that?"

"Nothing. Grateful. Full of joy."

Varik turned and started walking. "We leave in five. Don’t collapse."

Lucen fell backward into the dirt, arms spread out like a martyr.

"I hate this."

System: [No response.]

Lucen whispered, "Traitor."

—

The building was old. Not broken, not condemned. Just... forgotten. A squat, square thing on the edge of the eastern sector, tucked behind a logistics depot and a scrap dealer’s office. It didn’t look like a training facility.

Because it wasn’t.

At least not anymore.

Lucen stood by the locker door, towel over his shoulder, staring through the hazy plex window into the indoor pool. The water looked cold. Too clear. Too deep.

He turned.

Varik was already kicking off his boots.

Lucen said, flatly, "This is a pool."

Varik answered without looking up. "Correct."

"A public pool."

"Not anymore."

Lucen paused. Then, "What are we doing here."

"Dexterity training."

Lucen blinked twice.

Then glanced back at the water like it might suddenly make sense. "You brought me to a pool. To train agility."

"And endurance. Resistance. Mana diffusion."

Lucen raised an eyebrow. "You’re making this up as you go."

Varik finished tying back his hair. "I’m not."

"You totally are."

"Get in."

Lucen looked down at his borrowed swim gear, black trunks, thin shirt, nothing enchanted.

’This is punishment. He’s getting me back for making him carry me out of the labyrinth.’

Lucen sighed. "I don’t even know how to swim."

Varik gave him a long, blank stare.

Then said, "Yes you do."

Lucen squinted. "Do I?"

"Check your system."

Lucen pulled up his status. Scrolled. There it was.

[Basic Water Adaptation: Acquired]

[Swimming Proficiency: Novice]

"...When the hell did I—"

"Level ten."