THE DRAGON DEVOURING ART

Chapter 4

Inside the river, Lucifer could feel the subtle warmth as he scrubbed his body clean.

It was a form of baptism to him, as though he was washing away his past life and behaviors.

After he finished cleaning himself up, he thought of something and, standing naked in the midst of the pool, he glanced at the system.

[Creation Points: 5]

‘This should work, right?’ the youth hesitated briefly, then his thoughts moved.

In his mind, a series of imaginations subtly formed.

As though sensing what he was forming, the system glowed briefly.

[Detected the blueprint of a normal drying towel. This will cost a single Creation Point to create. Do you wish to go ahead with the creation?]

Lucifer’s eyes widened as he stared at the system’s words.

It seemed almost impossible, and for a moment, he didn't know what to think.

Subconsciously, he hesitated, then nodded. “Yes.”

He watched as his Creation Points decreased by one, becoming 4.

[The System Store has been unlocked.]

[System Store: This is an artificial space where all created physical equipment is stored. Please withdraw the item.]

Lucifer read through the lines of words and then noticed a glittering tab appearing lightly in front of his display screen.

He blinked, then clicked it, and the moment he did, he noticed he had appeared in an illusory space.

It was a vast expanse of white, which seemed only a few meters across. And inside the mysterious space was a single… towel.

Lucifer stretched out his hand and took the illusory material, realizing that a similar thing had appeared in his hand.

‘What? What?’ Lucifer was stupefied as he stared at the towel in his hand.

It seemed no different from a normal towel, and if he didn't know it was something he had just created, he wouldn't have even thought that something like this was created from an ability.

He drew in a sharp breath.

‘So this is the true power of my F-rank ability, Creation, when it is evolved to SSS-rank Primordial Genesis?’ Lucifer was stupefied, finding the whole thing hard to believe.

He thought for a moment and decided on something, wrapping the towel around himself to dry his body.

‘Since I could create a physical object, this should work, right? Let me try creating one F-rank ability I've seen before… this should help me mask my aura. If it is successful, I will have nothing to worry about as I quickly head back to the academy.’

With that thought, Lucifer made his move, reiterating the description of the F-rank talent he had previously seen one of his classmates display.

It was a talent that could make one have a barely noticeable presence in the vicinity of beasts.

The description quickly took form in Lucifer’s mind, and just as he had expected, the system glowed with a line of words.

[Congratulations on designing the blueprint of an F-rank ability. This will cost 2 Creation Points. Do you wish to proceed with the creation?]

Lucifer quickly nodded and held his breath.

The Creation Points decreased once again, from 4 down to 2.

Then, Lucifer felt a strange sensation in his mind.

A splitting headache erupted as the knowledge of the ability engraved itself into his mind.

He clutched his head tightly, groaning in pain as he struggled to process the information.

After a short while, Lucifer finally regained himself and stood up, his breathing ragged.

He stared at his hands, then his thoughts went to his system. Among the lines of words, another one had been added.

[Talent: F-rank Stealth.]

[Stealth: This is a low-grade talent that can mask your presence slightly, causing extremely low-grade beasts to be unable to detect you. Cost: 1 Mana Point/Hour.]

‘Damn! I really gained a new talent!’ Lucifer was stupefied.

In a daze, he subconsciously activated the ability. Previously possessing the F-rank talent Creation, he was already familiar with the process of activating one’s ability.

The next moment, he felt as though his aura had decreased slightly. From afar, his figure would appear blurry to one's eyes.

Feeling the mysterious change, Lucifer was filled with excitement.

‘Primordial Genesis! Such an overpowered ability!’ Lucifer exclaimed internally.

Leaving the ability active, he walked to where he had previously hung his clothes and turned around, heading straight to the academy.

The walk back was slightly more dangerous than normal, but with the newly created F-rank talent, Lucifer could handle the danger much more easily.

Along the way, he even took the time to kill a few more animals, raising his Creation Points from 2 all the way to 10.5!

It was truly a qualitative increase!

…

After a few hours had passed, Lucifer’s eyes finally met the familiar gates.

They were massive, stretching for a few meters. They seemed fortified with bronze and looked extremely strong, with a few engravings on them.

He glanced down. There at the gate were two guards. One of them was a muscular man with a mustache, while the man beside him, with a box-shaped face, seemed to be in his early twenties.

Upon sensing the strange presence, both men immediately raised their guard.

“State your identity!” the muscular man spoke in a gruff voice.

Lucifer paused in his steps, then opened his mouth lightly to speak. “Lucifer, Class One. I went on a dungeon-clearing mission with my… friends.”

His voice grew low, and his gaze darkened at the last part.

The muscular guard stepped forward, studying Lucifer intently.

Then, his eyes widened slightly as he recalled this youth. He smiled, patting Lucifer on the shoulder.

“You may head back. Your mission was supposed to last a day. Why are you so late?”

Lucifer just remained silent at his words.

The guard, seeing this, just exhaled, then gestured for his mate to open the gate.

The middle-aged man nodded and then walked briskly to the gate, opening it lightly.

Lucifer glanced at them for a moment, an unknown thought flickering in his eyes.

Turning his head away, he stepped through the gate.

‘Welcome back, Lucifer,’ he said to himself as he walked through the familiar streets, heading back to his dorm room.

Back at the gate, the middle-aged guard stared at the muscular man.

“It's unlike you to know someone as unremarkable as that. Is there something special about him?”

The muscular man sighed lightly, then as though recalling memories, he began speaking. “He is a victim of bullying. Occasionally, he comes to me to do something about it, but as you know, in the presence of those big families, there is nothing I can do.”

The middle-aged man nodded in understanding.

“Towards situations like this, you should just ignore them. His talent can't possibly be good. With a trash talent, is there a need to invest in someone like him?”

The muscular guard let out a breath. “I guess not.”

…

Lucifer was unaware of the discussion between the two. The dormitory was situated a few meters away from the gate. This was done so that the students wouldn't be easily attacked should anything happen in the academy.

Reaching the massive towering building, Lucifer took the elevator to the third floor, reaching room number 204.

His head hung low as he stepped inside, meeting his roommates.