13 Heavens: Rise Of The Bloodline Dreg

What are you, Kaelen?"

Roric’s face twisted from pain into fury. “You! You ran, you coward! You led us into this trap and then you ran!”

Leo ignored him. His eyes were locked on the beast. He could see its aura now. A swirling, sickly green energy centered in its core. The Heart-Crystal. It pulsed like a diseased heart.

“It’s weakened,” Leo said, his voice calm. It sounded different to his own ears. Clearer. “Its left side is slower. The injury runs deep.”

“What do you know, you dreg?” Roric spat. “Get out of here before I kill you myself!”

The Grub-Spawn decided for them. With a chittering shriek, it lunged, not at Roric, but at Leo. It sensed the new, pure energy in him. It wanted it.

Time seemed to slow down for Leo. His Diamond Hide skin tingled, sensing the shift in the air. He didn’t try to run. He dropped into a low stance, his body moving on instinct.

“Kaelen, move!” Elara screamed.

The beast’ massive maw descended. Leo sidestepped with a fluid grace that shocked both his teammates. The crystalline teeth snapped shut on empty air, inches from his arm.

“Impossible,” Roric breathed. “That speed…”

Leo didn’t have a fancy weapon. He just had his pulse baton. But as the beast’s head swept past him, he moved. He wasn’t just swinging. He was striking. He put his whole body into it, the power of his Level 13 Skin Refining flowing through his arm.

THWUMP!

The sound wasn't a metallic clang like when Roric hit it. It was a deep, solid impact, like hitting a sack of wet sand. The baton, energized by his own pure aura, glowed bright blue and smashed into the beast’s injured side.

The Grub-Spawn let out a screech of genuine pain. It recoiled, green ichor spraying from the wound. Leo had hit the exact spot Roric had weakened, but with ten times the force.

The beast stared at its new enemy, confused. This small thing shouldn’t have that kind of power.

“What… what are you?” Elara stammered, lowering her rifle.

Roric just stared, his mouth hanging open. The shame and anger on his face were being replaced by pure, unadulterated shock.

Leo didn’t answer. He was having a conversation with the System.

[Combat Analysis: Target’s Core is protected by dense muscle and a carapace. Your current offensive power is insufficient for a direct kill.]

[Suggestion: Target the wound. Penetrate deeply. Shatter the core from within.]

Got it, Leo thought.

The Grub-Spawn charged again, this time whipping its heavy, segmented body around like a club. Leo leaped straight up. His powerful leg muscles launched him high into the air, easily clearing the swinging attack. He landed on the beast’s own back.

“He’s insane!” Roric yelled.

The beast thrashed, trying to throw him off. But Leo’s feet were planted, his balance perfect. He was like a rock in a storm. He raised his pulse baton, aiming for the gash on its side.

“No, you idiot! Don’t get that close!” Roric shouted, a note of panic in his voice. It was one thing to hate the dreg. It was another to watch him commit suicide.

Leo plunged the baton deep into the open wound.

The Grub-Spawn went wild. It slammed its body against the walls, trying to crush him. Chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling. Leo held on, driving the baton deeper, pouring his own aura into it. The blue energy flickered and surged inside the beast.

He could feel it. The core was close. The Heart-Crystal.

“Its mouth!” Leo shouted over the beast’s roars. “When it opens its mouth, shoot inside! Now!”

Elara, acting on pure instinct, raised her rifle. She didn’t hesitate.

The beast, in its agony, reared its head back and let out a deafening shriek, its circular maw gaping wide.

Elara fired. A sustained burst of blue energy bolts shot from her rifle, straight down the creature’s throat.

There was a moment of silence. Then, a sickly green light erupted from inside the Grub-Spawn’s body. It glowed through its pale skin. The beast convulsed, a final, weak gurgle escaping its mouth. Then, it collapsed, motionless. The green light faded.

Silence returned to the ruined room.

Leo pulled his baton out of the carcass and jumped down. He was breathing heavily, but he felt exhilarated. He had done it.

Roric and Elara just stared at him, then at the dead beast, then back at him.

“How?” was the only word Roric could manage.

Leo walked over to the beast’s head. He ignored them. He needed the crystal.

[The Heart-Crystal is located in the cranial cavity. Access requires breaking through the frontal bone plate.]

Leo looked at the beast’s featureless head. There was no obvious weak point. He raised his baton to strike.

“Stop,” Roric commanded, struggling to his feet. “What do you think you’re doing? The spoils belong to the team. To me, as the leader.”

Leo finally looked at him. His eyes were cold. “You wouldn’t be alive without me. You get the herbs. I get the beast. That’s the deal.”

“You don’t get to make deals, Kaelen!” Roric snarled, his pride returning. “You’re a disgraced dreg. I am Roric of the Ironblood affiliates! I decide who gets what!”

Leo took a step towards him. He didn’t say a word. He just let the aura around him intensify. The air in the room grew heavy. The faint glow from his skin became more visible.

Roric felt it. It was a pressure. The same kind of pressure he felt from high-level family members. It was the pressure of pure, absolute power. It shouldn’t be coming from Leo Kaelen.

He took an involuntary step back. The fight went out of him. He was injured, exhausted, and now, deeply afraid of the man in front of him.

“Fine,” Roric muttered, looking away. “Take your rotten prize.”

Leo turned back to the beast. He focused his energy into his fist. His skin took on a diamond-like sheen. He didn’t need the baton. He punched, once, hard. The sound of cracking bone echoed in the room. He reached into the broken skull and felt around. His fingers closed around a smooth, warm object.

He pulled it out.

It was a crystal, the size of his palm. It was a deep, bloody red, and it pulsed with a slow, powerful light. It was incredibly heavy for its size.

[Item Acquired: Corrupted Heart-Crystal. Purity: 78%. Sufficient for initial Marrow Refinement.]

“Let’s go,” Leo said, tucking the crystal into a secure pouch on his belt. “This place could collapse.”

He walked past them without another glance and started back the way they had come. Elara quickly gathered the remaining herb containers and followed, giving Leo a wide, respectful berth. Roric limped after them, a storm of confusion and shame on his face.

As they emerged from the ruined building into the hazy, green-tinted light of the New York Tangle, Leo felt the System activate again.

[Sub-Objective Complete: Harvest the Heart-Crystal.]

[Reward: System-Guided Marrow Purification Protocol – Ready.]

[New Objective: Consume the Heart-Crystal and begin refinement. Location: Secure. Recommended: Your current residence.]

Leo looked up at the towering, broken skyline. The giant moss on the Empire State Building glowed a little brighter. The distant roars of beasts sounded a little less threatening.

He had taken the first step on a path no one else could walk. He had the power. Now, he just had to hide it, and keep climbing.

“The Reclaimer transport will be at the extraction point in ten minutes,” Elara said quietly, checking her scanner.

Roric didn’t speak. He just glared at Leo’s back.

Leo smiled to himself. Let them wonder. Let them fear. Their world of geniuses and bloodlines was about to be turned upside down.

He had a crystal to consume, and marrow to refine. The real work was just beginning.