It was all about marketing strategy.
That was the truth Lucius lived by, and it was the first thing any real Awakener with ambition should learn.
In this age and Earth as well, streams were everything.
Everyone was streaming — dungeons, raids, monster hunts, even practice duels.
Dozens of windows opened on people’s devices at the sa ti.
Important streams.
Unimportant streams.
So carefully edited by big guilds.
Others raw and chaotic, made by nobodies who hoped lightning would strike.
So the question was simple: what makes people watch your stream?
It wasn’t enough to be strong.
Fa alone didn’t matter.
Even if you were popular, the audience wouldn’t stay unless there was sothing unique, sothing entertaining.
If the comnts weren’t flooded with "this is the best stream right now" then people would close the tab without hesitation.
Lucius understood this better than anyone else.
And that was why he played the ga differently.
He was a showman. He crafted a performance out of his life.
Every step, every fight, everything...
It was part of his plan.
From being the most popular Awakener of the modern age, to being hunted by bounty hunters, and now leading this ridiculous raid squad — it was all intentional.
An Aizen level plan.
’I really am a genius,’ Lucius thought with a small smirk. ’Of course, regular people can’t understand my genius.’
His thought was interrupted by the sound of sothing shooting forward.
The Gloomwings screeched.
Their shrill cries ripped through the air, bouncing off the stone walls, piercing straight into the ears.
In a blur of dark wings, they descended on the group.
Lucius didn’t move.
Calmly, he pulled Luna into his arms.
Space bent around them, shimring faintly as a bubble of distorted reality ford.
The protective do wrapped him, Luna, and the small floating drone.
The monsters slamd against it, claws screeching against invisible walls, but their attacks were useless.
They couldn’t even scratch the barrier.
The others weren’t so lucky.
Matthias, the shadow wielder, exploded into motion.
His body lted into darkness and flowed across the floor.
In an instant, he erged from the shadow of a Gloomwing, blade in hand.
With one swift strike, he cut the monster in half.
[@DungeonKing: SHADOW BOY LOOKS COOL AF]
[@CuteLunaStan: He’s actually doing good omg]
[@ClownEmperor: Dude popped out like Batman lmao]
The battle began in earnest.
A brown-haired awakener with the oversized rifle adjusted her glasses, calm as if she were in a spy thriller.
Mana surged into her weapon.
Then... bang, bang, bang!
The rifle roared.
Each shot ripped through a Gloomwing, leaving glowing trails in the air before tearing apart wings and bodies.
The other two Hudson brothers fought side by side, Cyrus spinning his weapon with brutal power while Felix conjured.
One hacked downward, the other burned, and together they tore through the monsters like they were chopping firewood.
[@SharpBlade: Okay nah they actually got teamwork??]
[@HudsonFan: GO BROTHERS GO 🔥]
[@Lord77: This squad kinda valid ngl]
[@CasualViewer: Better than watching those boring big guild clears]
And then there was Erika.
She crawled across the ground like a child, reaching for her sword.
Monsters scread above her.
Blood rained around her.
Yet she kept fumbling forward, her hands slipping on the sli-covered floor.
[@ClownTi: 😭😭😭 she’s fumbling AGAIN]
[@BananaPeel: Nah this is cody gold]
[@NoHope4Her: Imagine dropping your sword mid-battle bruh]
[@ProtectErika: SHE’S THE TEAM MASCOT NOW]
Luna clutched Lucius’s sleeve, her eyes wide and sparkling with excitent.
She was enjoying every second.
Lucius’s eyes, however, darkened.
’Mongrels,’ he thought. ’You’re not supposed to look cool. Only I am supposed to look cool.’
Matthias prepared to strike again, his shadow rising under another Gloomwing.
But just as he lunged, his foot hit sothing.
A rock.
"What—?!"
He tripped, his montum betraying him.
He stumbled forward, arms flailing.
Before he could catch himself, his shoulder slamd into Grimm, who had just gotten up.
The two of them rolled together like a tangled ss, crashing into the dungeon wall with a loud thud.
[@DeathbyRock: 💀💀]
[@ShadowFail: HE TRIPPED ON A ROCK HAHAHA]
[@WallEnjoyer: Wall got the kill credit 🤣]
[@MatthiasMain: Bro shadowstepped into a skill issue]
[@ClownCentral: NAHHH HE TOOK HIS TEAMMATE WITH HIM 💀]
[@ObsessedViewer: Grimm’s FACE when they hit omg I’m dead]
[@LaughingStock: Bro lost all his aura in a min 💀]
[@ChaosAddict: Peak content don’t change a thing]
Lucius closed his eyes for a mont and sighed.
It wasn’t even staged.
They really were like this.
The fight dragged on for another mont.
Finally, Erika’s fingers closed around her sword hilt.
She stumbled to her feet, shaking, just as a Gloomwing dived for her.
She scread and swung wildly.
The strike was ugly and sloppy.
But sohow, it connected.
The blade hacked through the monster’s neck, not cleanly but with sheer force.
The head tore free, and the body crashed to the ground.
Silence followed.
The group exhaled heavily, gasping from the effort.
[@Watcher22: This squad is weak ngl]
|_ [@TrueFan33: Nah nah that’s what makes it fun]
[@BestStream: I’d rather watch them than the top guilds tbh].
"Alright," he said, his voice calm, "Let’s go up."
The group gathered themselves. Their bodies ached, but they followed.
Soon, they reached it.
The staircase.
It lood ahead, massive and slick.
Each step was carved from the dungeon itself, coated in layers of green sli that glead in the dim light.
Every surface looked treacherous, slippery enough to make anyone fall if they weren’t careful.
Erika swallowed nervously.
"Uhm... boss?" she asked, her voice hesitant. "What should we do?"
Lucius turned his head slowly, jacket swaying.
"Walk, fools."
Then, without another word, he wrapped his arm around Luna.
Space bent under his feet.
The air shimred, and his body rose from the ground.
He floated upward smoothly, carrying Luna in his arms as though it were effortless.
Her hair fluttered against his chest, her eyes shining with awe.
The rest of the squad could only stare as their leader left them behind.
At the top, Lucius turned back.
His figure stood frad against the dungeon’s shadows, jacket drifting through the air...
He looked damn cool.
His gaze swept down over them, unimpressed.
"We don’t have all day."
[Author’s Note]
I don’t usually post late like this ngl, but I had to stay a bit back at my part ti job and juggle college classes today, The way things are looking I might have to quit my job so I can focus properly.
Anyway next Chapter incoming and thanks for the castle 🖤Sorry for the late updates these past few days, I write most of these chaps when I’m half asleep.
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