Chapter 257: War in the Shadows

Evangeline explained the concept of limits to Luke. It wasn’t exactly a level cap, but something tied to the rank of his race. Since they were both still at Rank F, the ceiling was clear: Race Level capped at 50, Class Level at 60, and Profession Level at 60. No matter how many monsters he slaughtered or how many acres of farmland he cultivated, he wouldn’t gain a single point of experience beyond that.

“This is bullshit!” He shot to his feet, pacing furiously across the room. “A damned limit!”

I doubt I would’ve been able to beat the Beast Lord in a duel without that trick, even if I’d maxed everything out.

Then a darker realization struck him. He slumped back down, scowling. Franky’s snake had only been the second Lord. There was still the third one, stronger than the last. And after that, the Witch… and finally, the King.

With a grimace, Luke pulled up his system interface.

Name: Luke
Level: 47
Race: Half-Demon
Rank: F
Class: [Demonic Predator (Lvl 57)]
Profession: [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya (Lvl 60)]
Titles: [Dark Lord]
Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon]
Health Points (HP): 3913/4130
Mana Points (MP): 4570/4570 (4620)
Stamina: 2547/2570 (2770)
Soul Fragments: 87/1000

Stats:
Strength: 658
Agility: 478 (528)
Endurance: 257 (277)
Vitality: 413
Perception: 434 (444)
Intelligence: 457 (462)
Free Points: 0

Class Skills: [Advanced Blade Handling (Uncommon)], [Profane Knife Throwing (Uncommon)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Basic Blood Regeneration (Rare)], [Predator’s Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)], [Wraith Form (Ultra-Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Advanced Stealth (Rare)], [Assassin’s Tracking (Rare)], [Mana Infusion (Rare)], [Basic Archery (Common)]

Profession Skills: [Herbology of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Precise Extraction (Common)], [Basic Potion Crafting (Common)], [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)], [Plant Sensor (Uncommon)], [Botanical Bond of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Seed Conversion (Rare)], [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)], [Thorn Mutation (Uncommon)], [Soil Analysis (Uncommon)], [Botanical Purification (Uncommon)], [Acid Blood Arrow (Epic)]

Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Meditation (Common)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)]

Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)]
Servants: [Princess Charlie (Skeleton) – Lvl 28], [Servant Slot Available]

Looking over his levels, Luke felt a cold weight settle in his chest. He was practically brushing up against the limit. He was level 47, close to 50. His class already 57, creeping toward 60. His profession, maxed out. No more levels. No more new skills. Grinding further was pointless.

“There’s no way I can take on what’s coming by myself,” he muttered, eyes narrowing.

Especially not with the Midnight Lord and the Midnight King as mandatory bosses in this so-called tutorial.

“I told you,” Evangeline said softly.

“Then tell me this. Can we evolve our rank? The cap applies per rank, right?” Luke asked.

Artemis remained silent. Evangeline already knew the truth about the talking necklace, but Luke asked mentally anyway. The reply came in her clipped, dry voice: ‘At my current knowledge level, I don’t have that information. Remember? They nerfed me intellectually.’

Which meant Luke was left in the dark.

“It is possible to evolve rank, and keep leveling,” Evangeline finally said.

“You know how?”

“It’s not about knowing how. The rank limit exists so our bodies don’t explode from too much power crammed inside. When you evolve to a higher rank, your body strengthens and adapts. It adjusts to handle the attribute boosts, the mana surge, and everything else.” She hesitated. “At least… that’s how I learned it, back then.”

Luke nodded slowly. It lined up with things he’d read in Samael’s library. “Our human bodies, every time the race level goes up, they get blasted with that wave of mana during instant regeneration. Plants do something similar, absorbing ambient mana and evolving into magical species. We’re just doing it with our flesh instead of roots and leaves. That regeneration bonus is how the body becomes magical.”

And then a thought hit him, sharp and dangerous.

“Wait. If we hit the cap, we lose that benefit. No more instant regeneration, because there’s no level-up trigger anymore.”

He went still.

“If I break bones… lose a limb…” His voice turned low. “That’s it. Game over.”

Or if my body got eaten away by the Beast Lord’s acid…

“Now you understand why I had to wait here all this time? Alone, there was nothing I could do.”

She exhaled, shaking her head. “I had to wait for new people to show up, and most of them were just civilians. They’re terrified of leaving for the Wild Zone, let alone setting foot in the capital.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So I waited, hoping that once Marshall and Bartholomew killed each other, something could finally be done. Honestly, I was betting on Marshall. After he got his revenge, I figured that bastard and the other renegades would finally focus on getting out of this place.”

Luke weighed the information against what he already knew. “Do you think Marshall and the others hit their cap?”

“They spent years living like lunatics out in the forest.” Her tone hardened. “They could’ve planned to take down the Orc Lord or something, but they chose not to. So the Safe Zone would keep being attacked.”

She paused, almost grimacing. “I don’t know if they all managed to hit the rank limit, but at the very least they maxed their professions. After that, they tried to invade Bastion… and lost.”

Luke’s thoughts darkened. So Marshall had held back on purpose, just as he suspected. Their hatred was personal. Killing the Orc Lord would’ve weakened his small army, and Luke doubted the other cutthroats he recruited would’ve risked it. Only his core group, the ones who shared his grudge against Bartholomew, would have gone along. But that left Marshall trapped at a crossroads: lose his people in the second fortress, blow the capital’s gate too soon, or kill the Orc Lord and sacrifice his best men. Either way, Bartholomew would come out ahead.

As insane as it was, the strategy of letting monsters keep hammering the Safe Zone was clever. Marshall kept wearing them down, sabotage after sabotage, slowly cutting down Bartholomew’s soldiers. Then, when the Safe Zone was already weakened and the next great wave of monsters arrived, he struck the fortress. But Bartholomew defeated him. Obsession and short-sighted planning had led Marshall straight into ruin.

“So basically,” Evangeline said, “my plan to hitch a ride when Marshall and his crew decided to finish the tutorial went straight down the drain. Because Bartholomew won that little game instead.”

Luke gave her a hard look. “Then tell me. How do you rank up? From Rank F to Rank E. Do you know?”

“I do. When I hit level fifty with my race, I got a notification saying I’d already fulfilled part of the requirements. There’s a whole list of them for rank evolution. But one of them I’m still missing.”

“And what’s that?”

“Completing the tutorial.”

Luke let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. “What a joke…”

“I imagine it’s supposed to be the easiest requirement. Back on Earth, everyone finishes the tutorial.”

“Except we drew the short straw and landed in this insane version. Which means we’re all stuck in the same sinking boat.”

So one requirement was completing the tutorial. But what about someone born from parents who already had the System? That person wouldn’t get sent to a tutorial at all. They’d just be born with their own System. Luke guessed the requirement probably didn’t apply in those cases.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Still, did Earth even have as many monsters, or opportunities to level, as this place? That question had been gnawing at him. This tutorial was special in a hundred ways, but one of the biggest was how fast it let people grow. He’d taken less than a year to reach his current point, right near the peak of Rank F. Sure, it helped that he’d been reckless enough to constantly throw himself into life-or-death situations, but more cautious people had still made it, just slower, safer. People like Bartholomew, or Kruger.

How many years would it take an ordinary person to reach the same level of strength?

Evangeline cracked open one of the cans of food and slid it across the wooden table to him.

“How long did it take you to hit the rank cap? I mean, aside from the Wardens, most monsters here are pretty low-level. I can’t imagine how long you’d have to keep grinding them just to max out.”

“I’ve been stuck in this place for eight years.” Her voice carried both weariness and defiance. “I hit the limit about two years ago. It was a mix of everything, clearing out dungeon creatures, and, yes, fighting humans who had crossed the line.”