Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties

For several long seconds, nobody moved.

The cavern was eerily quiet after the brutal fight. Dust still drifted lazily through the air where the beasts had smashed into the walls, while fresh blood slowly spread across the cracked stone beneath their massive bodies. The glowing crystals embedded throughout the cavern continued to bathe everything in a pale blue light, making the pools of crimson appear almost black. The silence felt unnatural after the thunderous battle that had just taken place.

Liam glanced down at the nearest beast before crouching beside it.

Without saying a word, his eyes narrowed.

A faint silver glow flashed across his pupils.

The thick hide, muscles and bones of the enormous creature gradually became transparent before his eyes. Layer after layer disappeared until only the beast’s internal structure remained visible. He ignored the organs and veins, allowing his gaze to travel deeper until it settled on a faintly glowing object buried near the center of its chest.

”There you are.”

He reached forward.

Instead of using a weapon, Liam simply drove his bare hand straight into the beast’s body.

The sound alone made several people grimace.

His fingers tore through layers of thick hide before disappearing beneath flesh and muscle as though they offered no resistance at all. Blood immediately poured from the wound while broken ribs cracked apart beneath the strength of his grip.

Mary instinctively looked away.

Agatha flinched.

Even though both women had seen death before, watching someone casually reach inside a gigantic monster with his bare hand was another matter entirely.

Tatiana barely reacted.

Irina simply folded her arms.

Leonid watched with the detached expression of someone who had spent years examining corpses as a forensic investigator.

Liam searched for only a few seconds before his fingers wrapped around something solid.

He pulled.

A faint blue crystal emerged from the beast’s chest, covered in blood and fragments of flesh.

Liam casually wiped it against the beast’s fur before holding it beneath the glowing cave light.

The crystal wasn’t particularly impressive.

It was roughly the size of a walnut with an uneven shape and a cloudy blue color that lacked any real brilliance. Tiny strands of mana drifted lazily within it, but the energy felt ordinary.

”So...”

He quietly studied it.

”A Spawn Level crystal.”

Nothing special.

Liam turned it over in his fingers.

He had already seen enough monsters in this world to begin noticing the differences between them.

The first Spawn Level beast Tatiana had killed had been considered a lower tier specimen.

The second had been noticeably stronger, placing it somewhere in the middle ranks of Spawn Level creatures.

This tiger...

Was roughly the same.

Respectable.

Dangerous for ordinary adventurers.

But nowhere near enough to truly interest him.

His thoughts wandered.

If this was what a middle tier Spawn crystal looked like...

Then what about a high tier Spawn beast?

Would the crystal be larger?

Would the mana be denser?

Would merchants pay significantly more for it?

Or perhaps the real difference wasn’t the crystal itself, but the abilities hidden within stronger creatures.

The idea lingered only briefly before Liam stood and walked toward the second tiger.

The process repeated itself.

Again, his arm disappeared into the beast’s chest.

More blood spilled across the cave floor.

More cracking bones echoed through the chamber.

A few moments later he withdrew another crystal almost identical to the first.

Satisfied, Liam walked back toward the group, still holding both crystals while streaks of fresh blood covered his hands and forearms.

Tatiana barely even glanced at the blood.

She had grown accustomed to scenes like this.

Mary, however, unconsciously took half a step backward before catching herself.

Liam tossed both crystals through the air.

Irina caught them effortlessly.

She examined them briefly before slipping them into one of the few remaining pouches attached to her belt.

Liam dusted his hands together before looking toward Agatha and Mary.

”I think...”

He sighed.

”...we’ve been conned again.”

Both witches remained perfectly still.

Their eyes were still completely white.

The strange sight had somehow become even more unsettling inside the crystal-lit cavern.

They slowly shook their heads.

”No.”

Mary spoke first.

”What we’re searching for...”

”...is still here.”

Agatha nodded in agreement.

”Illusions can deceive ordinary sight.”

She looked toward the deeper sections of the cave.

”But they cannot deceive the Moonveil Tracking Rite.”

”The talismans still answer our call.”

”The connection hasn’t disappeared.”

Liam folded his arms.

”So you’re saying...”

”The person carrying our supplies is somewhere inside this cave?”

”Yes.”

Mary answered without hesitation.

”You can create false scenery.”

”You can disguise appearances.”

”You can manipulate what people think they’re seeing.”

She placed a hand against her chest.

”But our spell doesn’t search with eyes.”

”It searches through magical resonance.”

”The talismans themselves are calling to us.”

Liam slowly nodded.

That explanation actually made sense.

At least...

Mostly.

He looked away before quietly muttering beneath his breath.

”Yeah...”

”Like we weren’t all fooled by the scenery five minutes ago.”

Agatha pretended she hadn’t heard him.

Leonid, on the other hand, smiled faintly.

The vampire finally stepped forward.

”There are still too many things we don’t understand.”

Everyone looked toward him.

”Do we even know who’s doing this?”

He glanced toward the darkness deeper within the cave.

”Are we dealing with people?”

”Monsters?”

”Something else entirely?”

His voice remained thoughtful.

”And Gregor...”

He lowered his gaze.

”Is he even still alive?”

Nobody answered.

Leonid continued.

”Why capture him instead of killing him?”

”Why lure us here?”

”What do they actually want?”

”So many questions.”

The cave became quiet again.

Eventually...

Agatha spoke.

”There is only one of those questions I can answer.”

Leonid looked at her.

”Gregor is alive.”

Those words immediately lifted some of the tension hanging over the group.

Agatha closed her eyes briefly.

”I can still feel the resonance connected to our talismans.”

”It hasn’t faded.”

”It hasn’t broken.”

She opened her eyes again.

”As long as that connection exists...”

”So does Gregor.”

Mary nodded.

”The remaining answers...”

She slowly looked toward the darkness stretching ahead.

”...are somewhere inside this cave.”

Nobody needed further encouragement.

One after another, the group began moving.

This time there wasn’t any hesitation.

No debates.

No votes.

They simply walked.

Together.

The deeper they traveled, the more unusual the cave became.

From the outside it had appeared relatively small.

Certainly large enough to hide the two enormous beasts.

But nothing more.

Inside...

It felt endless.

The walls were lined with hundreds of glowing crystals that emitted enough pale blue light to illuminate the entire passage without the need for torches. Their soft glow reflected off damp stone, giving the cave an almost otherworldly appearance. Water occasionally dripped from the ceiling, the sound echoing through the tunnels before disappearing into the distance.

Tatiana quietly walked beside Irina.

Neither woman spoke.

The earlier guilt she had carried still lingered somewhere in the back of her mind, but she pushed it aside.

Now wasn’t the time.

Finding Gregor came first.

Behind them, Leonid remained alert, his eyes constantly scanning every shadow while Liam casually walked near the front with his hands resting inside his pockets as though they were taking an evening stroll instead of searching for a kidnapped companion.

Two minutes passed.

Then another.

Nobody said anything.

Eventually Liam frowned.

”This cave...”

He glanced behind him.

”...shouldn’t be this long.”

He was right.

Judging from the size they had seen outside, they should have reached the opposite end by now.

Instead...

The passage continued.

Twisting deeper beneath the earth.

For a brief moment Liam considered the possibility that they had entered another illusion.

His senses quietly expanded.

Aether Sense searched every direction.

Nothing.

No abnormal mana fluctuations.

No distortion.

No illusion.

Everything around them felt perfectly real.

”...Strange.”

Finally...

The tunnel opened.

The group instinctively stopped.

The cave had split.

Before them lay two separate passages leading in completely different directions.

Both looked identical.

Both disappeared into darkness beyond the reach of the glowing crystals.

Liam slowly turned toward Agatha and Mary.

”So...”

He gestured toward the two tunnels.

”Which one?”

The witches remained silent.

Then, to everyone’s surprise...

Both of them slowly shook their heads.

Liam blinked.

”...Don’t tell me.”

Mary sighed.

”Ever since we entered this cave...”

”Our Moonveil Tracking Rite has been behaving strangely.”

Agatha stepped closer to the intersection.

”The cave walls are interfering with the magical resonance.”

She frowned.

”The signal keeps reflecting.”

”Bouncing.”

”It refuses to settle in one direction.”

Mary nodded.

”It’s almost like trying to locate someone’s voice inside a hall filled with mirrors.”

”We know the connection is nearby.”

”We simply...”

She let out a quiet breath.

”...don’t know exactly where.”

Liam stared at both women for several long seconds.

Then he slowly looked toward the two tunnels again.

Another sigh escaped him.

”So much...”

He rubbed his forehead.

”...for the all seeing eyes.”

Behind him, irina quietly smiled despite the situation, while Agatha chose once again to pretend she hadn’t heard him.