Chapter 15: Legacy of the Dark Lord

Luke stopped channeling mana into the crystal. The elevator halted.

The system had just notified him of a new skill—one granted by his demonic bloodline. He wasn’t sure if he should be excited… or terrified.

“Well, too late now. There’s no way to undo it.”

He tapped the notification.

[Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)]: As heir to the lineage of the Lords of Darkness, you may claim a worthy creature to bear your mark. Upon defeating a target, you may brand it with your demonic blood, subjecting it to your absolute authority. The servant is reborn from its weakness, evolving beyond its natural limits, nurtured by the master’s power. The bond between Lord and Servant strengthens with your growing influence, shaping the fate of your legion through conquest and ambition.

Luke blinked at the description, stunned at first—then deeply uneasy.

He wasn’t just borrowing power from some dark source. He was the source now. This wasn’t just another active skill. The [Unique] tag said it all. This wasn’t normal. It wasn’t common. He was likely the only one in the entire multiverse who had access to this.

He tried to shake off the feeling and force himself into the cold mindset of an assassin. Pragmatic. Focused.

“Servants, huh? Like… monster allies?”

The moment he spoke, understanding of the skill filled his mind. It wasn’t just metaphorical.

To activate it, he had to mark a fallen creature with his own blood. The problem? Monsters were hostile. He’d have to subdue one somehow—without killing it entirely.

Still… it was a tool. Maybe the tool.

“The prisoners… if I have creatures under my command, I could use them to create a distraction.”

What had begun as a curse now looked more like a solution.

Luke placed his hand back on the crystal. The elevator began to rise once more. As he ascended, he imagined the possibilities.

If I can turn monsters into servants… then maybe I really can do this.

There were at least fifteen convicts waiting on the first floor. Strong ones. They had time to get stronger, gain classes, level up. And they were likely near the portal statue, guarding it.

Luke would need a diversion.

They’re not idiots. They’re killers. Even if I manage to slip past one or two… all it takes is a single person seeing me.

He glanced down at the elevator floor. His ride upward. His one shot.

I won’t be able to bring many creatures. The elevator is too small. And it only ascends. Once I reach the first floor, I can’t come back down.

That means… I need strong ones. High-level monsters. Something that can hold its own even against awakened criminals.

But would the skill allow that? Could I mark any monster? Are there limits?

He couldn’t risk waiting until the top to test it. He’d have to find something before reaching the surface. Something dangerous—but controllable.

Then—crack.

A sound like glass snapping under pressure.

Luke flinched and pulled his hand away. A faint spiderweb of fractures had appeared on the surface of the crystal.

“…The hell?”

He stared at it, heart racing. It didn’t look like it was going to break—yet.

Is this because I kept stopping?

Probably. The system hadn’t warned him about any limits, but clearly, there was one.

Luke placed his hand back on the crystal with a sigh.

***

Luke stopped the elevator. Several hours had passed, and as he ascended, a growing sense of claustrophobia began to settle in. The platform had risen into a narrow tunnel carved into the stone—tight, confined, with barely enough space for him to stand. The view of the environment had vanished, replaced by crude stone walls pressing in on all sides.

It felt like being buried alive.

Eventually, though, the shaft opened into a new chamber. A small room greeted him, complete with a fruit-bearing tree, a pool of clean water trickling from a stone wall like a makeshift waterfall, and a corridor that looked like it led into a dungeon.

Luke didn’t explore.

He didn’t want to stray far from the elevator. Not now.

Without hesitation, he resumed the climb.

Each hour, the pattern repeated—identical rooms appearing like rest stops: fruit, water, silence. A space to catch his breath. He was grateful for the chance to hydrate and snack, but his eyes stayed glued to the crystal.

It was cracking.

Subtle at first. A web of fractures spreading slowly, like a spider testing the limits of its silk.

Mana use wasn’t the problem. The crystal barely consumed any. The real threat was wear. Repeated stops. Time. Luke feared that if it shattered mid-ascent… there wouldn’t be a second chance.

***

This novel’s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

He sat with one hand on the crystal, eyes closed, trying to enter a meditative state. The same focus he had once tapped into when refining his assassin mindset.

But now, it wasn’t stealth or silence he was chasing.

It was understanding.

These weren’t just stat points. They weren’t arbitrary numbers on a screen. They changed things. His body. His instincts. His limits.

A soldier who knows he can swing a sword twice before losing breath builds his combat style around that restriction. But what happens when he can strike five times instead of two?

A diver who can last five minutes underwater trains his every movement—every stroke, every breath—with that clock in mind. What if the clock ticks for fifteen minutes instead?

Luke’s mind circled the thought.

The system stretched human capacity. But if the diver with triple the time grew careless… he’d still drown. More stamina meant nothing without the mindset to wield it.

That’s what Luke was trying to grasp: the meaning of these ten extra points in every attribute. Not just the power—but the responsibility. The way it changed his interaction with the world around him.

Then—

Crack!

A sharp snap pulled him from his trance. The elevator jolted to a stop. Luke’s eyes flew open.

“No. No, no, no—”

The crystal was broken. It crumbled like sand beneath his fingers, falling apart grain by grain. A tight knot formed in his chest. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded halfway between layers of the dungeon with no way to ascend.

But then—relief.

He looked around.

He was in another rest chamber. The next floor. Safe… for now.

Still, he cursed under his breath. “Seriously? Now I have to climb the rest of the way on foot?”

He didn’t complain further. Anything was better than being stuck inside that narrow tunnel, condemned to die alone in the dark.

[Alert: Elevator Crystal has broken. Seek another crystal somewhere on this dungeon floor.]

The notification faded. Luke took a breath and stepped away from the rest chamber.

“Well… that’s good news, right?” he muttered, trying to stay optimistic.