Incubus Ascension-Chapter 2

Liam kept his footsteps light, staying far enough back that the girl wouldn’t hear him as she turned into the narrow alley.

The streetlights didn’t reach this deep; everything just turned into different shades of gray and shadow.

His pulse was already thumping in his ears, louder than it had any right to be.

He didn’t even have a good reason for following her. Curiosity? Boredom? Maybe both.

Whatever it was, he pressed his shoulder against the damp brick wall and kept moving.

She stopped short when she saw them.

Three guys waited at the far end of the alley. Hoodies pulled low, cheap fabric masks, gloves, the classic late-night mugger uniform.

The tallest one stepped forward first. He looked like he spent more hours lifting weights than he did running from trouble.

In his right hand swung a woman’s purse. Her purse.

His voice came out rough and low, muffled by the mask. "You’re late."

She didn’t even twitch. She squared her shoulders and fired back, voice like a whip.

"You’re seriously complaining I’m late? You stole my damn purse, asshole."

The tall guy just stared at her for a long beat. Then he raised the purse a little higher, dangling it like bait.

A faint blue glow started curling around his fingers, cold-looking, like frost spreading over steel.

"Chill," he said, dragging the word out slow and heavy.

His eyes widened seeing the frost he made with his hands, he was an awakener.

Meanwhile, the girl didn’t even react to his threat. Instead, She paused, just for a second. Then her eyes narrowed to slits.

"If you damage that purse, I swear I’ll kill you right here."

He didn’t reply. Just tilted his head toward the skinny one beside him. "Did you bring the money?"

She shoved her hand into her jacket pocket, yanked out a small plastic bag fat with cash, and hurled it at the skinny guy’s chest. He fumbled the catch but held on.

The tall one’s eyes sharpened. "Count it."

The Skinny guy ripped the bag open and started thumbing through the bills, quick and mechanical.

Thirty seconds later he gave a short nod.

"It’s all here."

The tall guy tossed the purse back to her in a lazy throw. She snatched it mid-air like it was most precious thing she had.

The moment her fingers closed around it, both thieves spun and bolted toward the open mouth of the alley, vanishing into the dark.

She stood there clutching the purse against her chest for a second.

Then she unzipped it fast, rifled through whatever was inside, and let out this long, trembling breath, like she’d been holding it the whole damn time.

Relief smoothed out the hard lines on her face.

But then she looked up, saw the two thieves still running, and everything about her changed.

A violent red aura exploded out from her body.

The concrete under her shoes started glowing the same furious red.

The brick walls lit up like they’d been splashed with fresh blood. The air turned thick and hot, pressing against his skin.

His stomach dropped.

He remembered who she was...

Pyra.

Top of the class. The girl who first to awaken in his class.

The same girl who steamrolled every trial, aced every exam, and carried herself like the rest of us were just background noise. Pyra.

Back in his last life, after the walls came down, she’d carved out a real name for herself as the red dragon witch.

Then she left Lumina City while he stayed behind, rotting in the sewers with Olivia like some cornered animal.

Even now, that same powerful look clung to her, though it still felt a little raw, a little juvenile.

She raised both hands toward the fleeing thieves.

A tiny fireball sparked between her palms, barely apple-sized at first.

Then it ballooned fast, swelling and brightening until it was roughly the size of a basketball, swirling with white-hot flames that hurt to look at.

She threw it.

The fireball tore down the alley like a comet. It slammed into both of them at the same time.

A huge boom slammed his eardrums. The light was so bright he had to squeeze his eyes almost shut.

Thick black smoke rolled in. When it finally thinned... nothing. No bodies. No scorch marks. Not even a speck of ash. Just clean pavement.

She lowered her hands, tucked the purse tighter under her arm, and turned slowly.

Her eyes locked straight onto the stack of crates he was crouched behind.

"I know you were here the whole time," she said. Her voice was calm, but the cold edge in it made his skin prickle. "Show yourself."

He swallowed hard, stepped out, and raised his hands halfway like he was surrendering. "Okay, okay."

She scanned him up and down. "I recognize the uniform. Ark Academy, right?"

"Yeah."

She gave one sharp nod. "And I remember you. The guy who always finishes dead last on exams."

He scratched the back of his neck, heat crawling up his face.

"Yeah... that’s really not the first impression I wanted to give anyone."

She lifted her right hand. Flames wrapped around it like a living glove, flickering red and orange.

Her voice dropped low, almost soft, but every word cut.

"If you breathe one word about what you saw here, I’ll find you. I’ll make you suffer.

Even if it means breaking every academy rule in the book."

He threw both hands up fast. "I won’t say anything. I swear. Promise."

His eyes kept flicking back to the purse she was gripping so hard her knuckles had gone white.

Whatever was in there, it obviously meant way more to her than just cash or cards.

She turned and walked away without another word.

He watched her back disappear around the corner. His mind spun.

He needed to get stronger. Way stronger. This was 10 years before the aeon game, and Pyra already awakened and this strong.

Even though he was considered an awakener with his system, he still needed to use it to got stronger.

And that means....yeah.

That stupid requirement, making women come to got SP. God, it still sounds ridiculous even in his head.

This has to be the most unhinged incel system he had ever gotten.

But for the sake of protecting Olivia and facing the future apocalypse, he needed to use it.

And most importantly, he needed to make his relationship with her clearer, and sooner, in this life.

To give her the life he failed to provide for her in his past one.

But all this need one thing...he needed to got stronger.

He shook his head off, then pulled his phone out, and checked the time.

8 p.m. already. Shit.

He turned and started the walk back to the dorm.

Instead of heading straight to the main entrance, he cut around to the back where the trees thickened up.

He kept walking deeper into the section full of pines and overgrown bushes until the lights from the campus faded completely.

After about thirty minutes of walking, he stopped.

"Here it is," he muttered.

Right in front of him, the air started to swirl, slow at first, then faster, like heat rising off pavement but thicker, heavier.

A dungeon gate was forming.

He remembered this from his last life. A secret dungeon had spawned right behind the dorm.

The academy staff didn’t spot it in time, the monsters inside slowly become stronger, and one day it erupted.

Dozens of students and teachers died before anyone could contain it.

Standing here now, staring at the gate, his stomach twisted.

This is dangerous. Really dangerous. But he had to do it. For Olivia. For changing the shitty fate he got handed last time.

He opened the system shop and scrolled fast between the skills section.

Then he finally found it.

Skill: Ki Strike. Rarity F+.

Lets the host faintly channel Ki, boosting his attack lethality by 50%. Active skill. Scales with stamina and endurance.

Price: 3 SP.

He brought it without hesitation.

The light from the gate pulsed once, brighter.

He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Just then, A Notification flashed across his vision.

[Dungeon: Shadow Garden ]

Rank: F+

Objective: Kill all the ghouls. All are Level 2.

Rewards: A Book to upgrade an active skill.

He looked around him.

There was just a Dead forest. Gray, leafless trees. The Sky was deep violet.

He started walking forward.

Just as he was walking, A hand burst out of the ground and clamped around his ankle.

"Fuck!" He jerked his feet back hard.

He activated Ki Strike, felt a warm buzz run down his dagger, and chopped down the hand with the dagger.

The fingers snapped off. He kicked the severed hand away and stumbled back.

The ground shook again. Not one ghoul, but several.

They were pale, rotting things clawing their way up to the surface.

He didn’t wait. He lunged at the first one still half-stuck in the soil and smashed his dagger into its skull, once, twice, three times, until its HP bar hit zero. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ding.

15 exp.

Meanwhile, Another one was already too close to him. He tried to got away but it tore his shirt with it nails.

"Shit, " he cursed, then pulled his dagger again, and stabbed.

The blade sank in, but those filthy nails looked infected. No way he was letting them touch him.

He jumped back, hit it again and again, first chest, then neck, then head, until it finally dropped dead.

He kept going. Killing One after another. His arms burned. His lungs burned worse.

Finally, the last one died.

Ding!

Dungeon cleared.

Leveling up → Level 2.

The dungeon vanished and he was spit back into the real forest behind the dorm.

He bent over, hands on his knees, sucking air. "That... was way too close. I barely made it."

But it made sense. He had entered it with Level 1 stats. No wonder every hit took a troll on him.

Another ding.

Rewards: Skill Upgrade Book

(Upgrades any active skill Rank E or below to the next rank.)

He grabbed the book, shoved it under his torn shirt, and let out a long breath.

This is a Very Long day.

He walked back toward the dorm, his legs heavy, and his mind numb.

The second he got inside his room, he collapsed face-first onto the bed and passed out snoring.