Chapter 73: A Safe Place…

At his words, the blue screen flickered before him, with ancient golden intricate engravings shimmering along its edges.

Then, a familiar window appeared.

[STATUS]

Name – Lucian Foster

Race – Human

Rank – F

Titles – Loved by ######

Bloodline – Devourer’s Bloodline

Affinity – None

Talent – B

[Attributes]

Strength – 30

Agility – 30

Constitution – 20

Intelligence – 20

Will – 18➝19

Perception – 21

Charm – 18

Stamina – 28

Mana – 15➝16

Attribute Points (AP) – 29

— — —

Almost all of his stats were the same as before, but his mind didn’t even focus on that.

His eyes weren’t even focusing on anything.

They stared at the screen, yet they weren’t seeing it. The sections, the attributes, their numbers and letters drifted across his vision like distant shapes underwater, distorted by the turmoil raging inside his head.

The room around him felt strangely distant.

After a second, his gaze shifted, landing on one specific line that he really needed to see right now.

[Will – 18 ➝ 19]

His head throbbed, sending a dull ache that pulsed in his temples, spreading across his skull like a tightening band. The pain was sharp, pressing against his thoughts as if his mind was being stretched too much and was now struggling to hold itself together.

Even his mind felt like it was splitting apart.

The memories were still there.

Dull, hazy, and broken.

But he could still feel the smell of the damp stone for a second.

The sound of claws scraping against cave walls.

The hunger, not just for food, but something more, something that made his body heat up just by thinking.

Lucian closed his eyes for a moment, his fingers tightening slightly on his knees.

He might get better after a good sleep.

A proper one.

Something he still hadn’t gotten.

Even after sleeping for a few hours through the morning, it hadn’t been real rest. His body had just collapsed into unconsciousness after being so exhausted from fighting through the entire night inside the dungeon.

His body had rested, but his mind hadn’t.

And now the prize was catching up to him.

He was still human, and he still felt fatigue.

But right now, it wasn’t the physical fatigue that he was feeling.

It was something far heavier.

A mental exhaustion that pressed down on his consciousness like an invisible weight, hammering on him.

Just yesterday… he had received a memory of a stranger, a middle-aged man.

That alone had been unsettling enough, and now?

No, it was even worse.

Not even the memory of a human, but a monster’s.

A goblin’s.

Lucian’s fingers slowly curled.

It was a miracle that he was still awake and perfectly aware of his senses, and hadn’t yet lost his control over his emotions.

Because right now—

Right now, he really wanted to break everything before him.

The table, the walls, even the floor.

Anything.

Just to release the violent pressure building inside his chest.

Shaking those violent thoughts, he bit his tongue hard, trying to stay conscious.

The sharp sting of pain shot through his mouth, as the metallic taste of blood spread across his tongue.

It helped, barely.

Both Seraphina and Lia were getting more and more worried.

They had been standing near him the entire time, watching and waiting as time passed by.

Neither of them spoke first.

They simply watched him, wanting to do something but not knowing what to do.

Lucian was breaking himself. And the apocalypse had just started.

Seraphina stood a short distance away, her elegant posture still, her arms crossed as her fingers clutched her sleeve tightly. Her gentle eyes were fixed on her son with a growing worry she could no longer hide.

She parted her lips slightly, as if wanting to say something.

But she hesitated, no knowing what to say.

Beside her, Lia looked even more restless, as her brows furrowed with anxiety.

Neither of them knew what he was doing, nor why he had suddenly turned so aggressive.

They had tried to get closer to him, but he pushed them away.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want them near him.

It was because he did.

Too much.

And that was the problem.

How?

Because he was having thoughts he shouldn’t have.

His eyes darkened as he felt the feeling again. All dark thoughts were gathering in his mind.

It wasn’t just the goblin’s emotions. They were his too, just much more darker.

But before they could corrupt him further—

“Put all the points in Will,” he said, not even knowing that he had spoken itt out loud.

Both of them frowned, hearing his words, which didn’t seem to be directed at them.

“Lucian?” Seraphina muttered softly with a small frown, wondering what he was saying, as confusion mixed with concern.

Meanwhile, Lucian hadn’t even thought much before saying that.

He hadn’t seen anything properly on the screen, not even the Attribute Points he had left.

All he knew was one thing.

His mind was spiraling.

And his Will stat would help him with that.

Right now, he just wanted to get rid of the headache, along with those destructive and impulsive feelings clawing inside his mind.

He didn’t look at both of them right now.

His eyes remained fixed on the screen only he could see.

[Attribute Points Remaining – 0]

Instantly, a cool sensation washed over him, as it spread through him like a gentle current of cold water flowing through his mind—soothing and calming his raging thoughts.

His eyes completely regained their clarity.

His slightly heavy breathing slowly stabilised.

His mind finally began to cool down, as the darkness that had clouded them earlier faded away.

He slowly lowered his hands, resting them on his thighs.

He exhaled out loud and finally lifted his head and looked at both of them.

“I’m fine,” he said.𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

This time, his voice had once again become calm, even slightly relaxed.

The headache hadn’t exactly vanished, and the raging emotions hadn’t either.

They were still there, but they were decreasing… and had greatly diminished, making him internally sigh in relief.

Yet, despite that change, the expressions on both of the woman’s faces only deepened into further worry.

Both Seraphina and Lia frowned, thinking that he was once again trying to push himself.

“Brother, you don’t have to push yourself this much,” Lia said worriedly, as she looked at the corpses of the goblins for a second.

‘Fucking bastards.’

Her eyes glinted slightly as a dark thought crossed her mind.

She really wanted to kill them right now, even though they were already dead.

These creatures were the reason Lucian was hurting himself… why he probably looked so different all of a sudden.

She didn’t even think about how her thoughts were going towards killing so easily.

Lucian looked at the corpses for a brief moment before looking at them again.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” he said again, standing up from the couch.

Both Lia and Seraphina immediately looked at him.

Their expressions were filled with skepticism.

They didn’t really believe it, but seeing his calm eyes and the composure that had returned, they decided to believe him anyway.

“This place isn’t safe anymore,” he said, briefly glancing at the corpses one last time.

“Are we going out then?” Lia asked, somewhat concerned, because aside from Lucian, they were just deadweight right now.

They didn’t even know how to fight, and aside from that… they didn’t know if they could kill these creatures again.

She was weak, and Lia clearly knew that.

Even thinking about it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She hated that feeling—the feeling of being useless.

‘Is this how he felt for years?’ she thought, looking at her brother, who had called himself useless for years after his paralysis.

Her fingers tightened slightly.

But Lucian shook his head at her question.

“Going out might be more dangerous. These goblins are just F rank. And might be the weakest of the bunch.” he said seriously, his eyes solemn.

Both of them fell into a stunned silence.

They didn’t even think about how he knew such a thing, but…

These were the weakest?

They looked at the goblins again.

Lia knew from her childhood games that goblins were the weakest, but just these weak beings were able to cause so much chaos in their neighbourhood.

‘And even if I could easily kill them… I don’t know if it will be the same with both of them around.’ He thought, but didn’t say the words out loud.

The F rank ones weren’t even his match right now.

He was stronger than an E rank monster, which he was sure of.

But while keeping his sister and mother safe?

Even if he trusted his strength—

He couldn’t guarantee that something wouldn’t go wrong.

But—

“We don’t have to go out.”

A small smile appeared on his face.

“I have just the place to hide… in here.”

***

After a while…

“So this is the place?” Lia asked, looking around the gym in their house in clear disbelief.

This was the gym Lucian used to train his body, and where they sometimes used it too, though rarely.

Everything inside the room looked normal, with multiple pieces of training equipment around—dumbbells, a treadmill, a pull-up bar, and even a punching bag.

But aside from that… there was nothing special in the room!

Which was exactly why Lia was looking at him with skepticism.

He wasn’t making fun of them, right?

She shook her head and looked around again, thinking if there was really something wrong in her brother’s head.

Meanwhile—

Seraphina remained quiet. She didn’t even look around. She just looked at Lucian, as if asking, ‘Why are we here?’

Lucian understood what she meant just by her gaze.

Without answering them, he just walked towards one of the walls.

On it was a large poster, nothing great. It wasn’t anything impressive.

Just a simple printed poster showing different types of gym equipment—treadmills, weights, barbells, and other exercise machines arranged in a promotional layout… like the ones often seen in fitness stores.

And no.

There wasn’t a picture of a bodybuilder on it.

Lucian had no intention of looking at a half-naked man while working out.

He walked straight toward it, reached out, and grabbed the poster. With a sharp motion, he tore it off the wall.

Both Lia and Seraphina’s eyes widened slightly.

Because behind the poster—

There was something else.

Hidden behind the simple wall decoration… was a door.

A large, square door that looked like it had been made of thick metal.

The edges were reinforced with heavy bolts.

It looked less like something you’d find inside a house—

And more like the entrance to a bunker.

Lucian just stepped aside as a bright smile lit up his face.

“Abra Kadabra,” He said lightly, giving them a small bow with one hand on his chest and the other behind his back, like a performer revealing the final trick of a magic show.

“This…” His tone carried a playful tint, as he gestured toward the metal door behind him.

“…is our safe spot.”

(Dont take the written words.below to you heart. Its just me venting out for the current suspension of my novel.)Any one who reported this novel. Do please go watch other novels, where there are far worse things than mine. Why don’t you go and report there?

Why poor me?

WHY MEEE???

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Next chapter will start from next month.

Thank you for reading.