Transmigrated with my corruption system-Chapter 26: Three Blades

"Mommy... I want my mommy." Inside another tunnel across the dungeon, a distressed shriek echoed out as a girl yelled helplessly, pale dark eyes watery with unshed tears.

Clad in a simple white robe that hung loosely over her figure, her dark hair flowed to her shoulders, framing a terror-stricken face.

Behind her, the rest of her group stood, no better than her. Numbering around five, their talents ranged from F-rank to E-rank.

Discarded from their other groups, left to fend for themselves.

At the front were a couple of grey wolves, their fur marked with patches of darker shades around their necks.

The auras oozing from their bodies were far beyond Level 1. Maybe two or three as the pressure pressed down on them. A Level 1 beast was already a menace. But this... this was just a death sentence. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Gulping audibly, Lena inhaled sharply, trying to regain her composure but failing repeatedly as the events leading to this outcome flared in her mind.

They had thought of waiting out the 24 hours before the option to leave emerged at the safe zone. After all, it was better to be weak and alive than weak and dead.

But the safe zone wasn’t an option. After a few hours, it would vanish. Waiting would be no different than sitting ducks, waiting to be attacked.

So they chose the second option. Which hadn’t gone as planned.

"So this is it," Lena mumbled, clenching her hands softly into fists as she watched the wolves pick up speed. Barely a few moments remained before they would be torn to pieces.

She had thought of this moment ever since she was a child. But ever since she awakened an F-rank talent, all her dreams had come crumbling down.

Her dream of becoming one of humanity’s great heroes went up in smoke right before her eyes.

"I’m sorry," she mumbled, feeling the disappointment well up in her chest as tears streamed down her face.

She couldn’t be the daughter her parents had wished her to be. Just as she was sinking deep into a slump of self-pity, she felt a hand tug at hers before slowly grasping it.

Turning softly, her eyes locked with Eliera’s.

Short dark hair. A dark robe. Eyes glinting with determination that was slowly fading into hopelessness.

The only friend she had. An awakened E-rank talent, but almost as useless as her F-rank, considering it wasn’t combat-oriented, but utility-based.

No words were exchanged as their grip tightened, eyes snapping shut as they waited for the inevitable. The trio behind them stood frozen in fear as well.

A few seconds passed. Then a minute.

Lena’s face wrinkled, brows arching in confusion.

Unable to endure it any longer, her eyes fluttered nervously before cracking open, curious to see what was taking so long.

The result elicited a sharp gasp, immediately drawing Eliera’s attention as her eyes opened as well.

The trio at the back gawked at the unexpected sight. Where the pack of around twelve wolves had been, a dark mist was slowly spreading, causing the beasts to shift their attention to the new presence.

"T-this..." Lena muttered, trying to force the words past her throat. It all looked familiar.

It didn’t take long before her eyes widened in realization.

It almost resembled the inky darkness the young lord had unleashed to instantly wipe out a group of Level 5 beasts.

"It can’t be..." Eliera stuttered. The young lord? Could it be him? If so, why was he here? Shouldn’t he have charged deeper into the dungeon, where higher-level beasts roamed?

As their doubts grew alongside the thickening mist, the unmistakable outline of a green-robed figure came into view, with Lyra’s blue-robed figure just behind him.

"It... really is him," Lena muttered, the fear in her voice slowly peeling away, as if she had glimpsed light at the end of a tunnel.

The group behind her straightened as well, the worry pressing down on them instantly erased.

The youth in question didn’t look as pleased as he stared down at the charging wolves heading straight for him.

"Not again," Ulric sighed, raising his hand to rub the bridge of his nose.

He had thought choosing one tunnel would naturally lead to the depths of the dungeon.

Only he hadn’t anticipated it turning out to be a maze of sorts, which was beginning to irritate him.

He needed stronger beasts to level up faster.

He groaned, waving his hand slowly. The beasts ahead would do well to appease some of his growing anger.

The darkness already oozing from his body suddenly thickened massively, swallowing everything around him.

The range expanded steadily, five meters, then ten, and beyond. Noticing the shift, the charging pack abruptly halted. The darkness exuded a suffocating sense of death, forcing them to slowly back away, eyeing it warily.

Seeing the change, a smile carved across his lips.

"Not so fast."

Snapping his fingers, the darkness churned violently before compressing, taking the shape of a massive two-meter spectral blade hovering in the air.

"Nice," Ulric breathed, noting the growth by half a meter. But that wasn’t all. Flicking his fingers again, the blade buzzed rapidly before another shimmered into existence beside it. Then another.

Stopping at three, the smile on his face widened. Having allocated all his blank attribute points into Intelligence, he wasn’t disappointed at all.

Besides the number of blades increasing to three, their edges had grown more serrated and sharper, wisps of dark energy oozing from them in a menacing display.

Lyra, beside him, froze momentarily. Her blue eyes narrowed in awe. If she remembered correctly, he could only control a single blade of darkness before.

Now there were three. And they looked even more resilient. More dangerous...very dangerous. She could feel the pressure radiating from them. He was growing stronger. At a far faster pace than she had anticipated.

As the blades shot forward, she rushed out as well, the quiet vow replaying in her mind.

Seeing Lyra charge after sending out his blades, Ulric smiled.

She’s... determined. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad at this point. He had seen the effort she exerted in every battle. It was commendable. But he had also seen the look in her eyes each time.

She was measuring her progress against his. At other times, that would have been motivating. But Ulric wasn’t just a regular genius.

With the Corruption System at his back, there was no ceiling, only speed. He just didn’t want that realization to crush her.

Sighing softly, he shook his head and pushed the thought aside. He would deal with it later.

Watching the blades pierce and blow apart the wolves’ heads one by one, his heavy expression eased slightly.

He had expected controlling multiple blades at once to pose a challenge. But it only seemed to grow easier. As if they were extensions of his limbs, flowing in perfect coordination with his thoughts.

But there was a slight difference this time.

As the blades drilled into each beast, before moving on, the lifeless corpses were sucked in and absorbed as a cascade of notifications flooded his vision.

The blades glinted with a darker sheen with every beast they consumed.

[Ding! You have killed a Level 2 Ordinary Grey Wolf! +20 Experience Points!]

[Ding! You have killed a Level 3 Ordinary Dark Wolf! +30 Experience Points!]

[...]

[Ding! You have gained 400/400 Experience Points.]

[Ding! Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

Level 5: [0/500]

(+5 Attribute Points)

Waves of golden energy rushed into him, filling him with a soothing sensation. The smile on his face widened as a low growl escaped his lips.

"More... I need more."