Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties

”Well done...”

The voice drifted across the open field again.

”You made it this far.”

Nobody moved.

The words sounded almost casual, yet there was something about them that made every person in the group instinctively tense.

Liam slowly raised his head.

His eyes moved across the empty landscape.

There was nothing.

No figure.

No creature.

No magical formation.

Nothing that could explain where the voice was coming from.

Tatiana moved closer to him without saying anything. Leonid had his hand resting near his sword while Agatha, Mary and Gregor stood together, their eyes moving constantly across the surrounding area. Irina’s fingers had already begun gathering a thin layer of frost.

The horses shifted nervously beneath them.

Even they could feel that something was wrong.

Then the voice spoke again.

”You have crossed the mountains.”

A pause followed.

”You have defeated the outer guardians.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

So the Gargoyles really had been nothing more than the first layer of defense.

He had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed made the situation even more interesting.

”You seek what lies beyond this region.”

Agatha’s expression changed slightly.

She looked toward Liam.

The guardian knew why they were here.

That meant this thing had been watching them long before it spoke.

The voice continued.

”Then prove that you are worthy of proceeding.”

The air suddenly became heavy.

A strange pressure spread across the field.

The horses immediately began pulling against their reins.

Tatiana’s eyes sharpened.

”What is happening?”

Liam didn’t answer.

He was looking at the ground.

A thin black line had appeared beneath his boots.

Then another.

Then another.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

Dark fissures spread across the earth like veins.

Within seconds, hundreds of cracks had covered the ground around them.

The temperature dropped.

The wind stopped.

The entire landscape became unnaturally silent.

Then something moved beneath the ground.

Gregor took a step backward.

”Something is coming.”

The earth exploded.

Boom!

A massive creature burst from beneath the surface.

It landed several metres away from them, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust.

Everyone stared.

The creature stood nearly three metres tall.

Its body was humanoid, but only in the most basic sense. Its limbs were too long, its shoulders too broad and its head covered by a layer of black stone-like armor. Two pale eyes glowed from beneath its brow.

Tatiana immediately crouched slightly.

Leonid drew his sword.

Irina raised her hand.

Mary and Agatha began forming spells.

Liam stared at the creature.

Something about it felt familiar.

Not its appearance.

Its presence.

Then another creature emerged.

And another.

Within moments, six enormous figures stood around them.

Liam’s eyes moved from one to another.

He immediately noticed the differences.

The first had a body built like a warrior.

The second had frost spreading across its arms.

The third moved with an unnatural stillness.

The fourth had strange magical markings covering its body.

The fifth possessed elongated claws.

The sixth was surrounded by faint waves of energy.

Liam’s expression became thoughtful.

”These things...”

Tatiana looked at him.

”What?”

”Don’t attack yet.”

Nobody moved.

Agatha glanced at him.

”Why?”

”I want to see something.”

The nearest creature suddenly lunged.

Tatiana reacted immediately.

She disappeared from her position.

Boom!

Her fist collided with the creature’s chest.

The impact sent a shockwave across the field.

The monster staggered backward.

Tatiana followed.

Her claws extended as she attacked again and again, moving with the speed and ferocity of a true werewolf.

The creature blocked one strike.

Then another.

Then Tatiana’s final punch smashed directly into its jaw.

Crack!

The creature’s head snapped sideways.

It collapsed.

The entire group stared.

Tatiana landed lightly.

”That was easier than I expected.”

Liam didn’t smile.

He was watching the fallen creature.

Something was wrong.

The creature’s body began dissolving.

Not into blood.

Not into dust.

Its entire body broke apart into black particles.

The particles floated upward.

Then disappeared.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

”Wait.”

Tatiana looked toward him.

But it was already too late.

A crack opened several metres away.

Another creature emerged.

Everyone stared.

It looked almost identical to the creature Tatiana had just killed.

Except there was one difference.

Its muscles were larger.

Its movements were faster.

And when it raised its arm, its claws extended into long curved blades.

Tatiana’s expression hardened.

”That’s new.”

Liam slowly stood straighter.

His side immediately protested.

Pain shot through his ribs, but he ignored it.

He didn’t care about the wound right now.

He was thinking.

”Leonid.”

The vampire looked at him.

”Yeah?”

”Kill one.”

Leonid raised an eyebrow.

”You want me to?”

”Yes.”

Leonid shrugged.

”If you insist.”

He vanished.

Whoosh!

He appeared beside another creature and drove his sword through its chest.

The blade pierced straight through.

The creature collapsed.

Leonid pulled the sword free.

The body dissolved.

Everyone waited.

Another crack appeared.

A new creature emerged.

This one was faster.

Much faster.

It moved almost like Leonid.

The vampire’s expression changed.

”What the hell?”

Liam’s eyes widened slightly.

He finally understood.

”Again.”

Leonid stared at him.

”You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

”Just do it.”

Leonid attacked again.

This time he fought the creature with his bare hands.

His speed increased.

His body blurred.

The two figures collided repeatedly across the field.

Leonid eventually grabbed the creature’s head and smashed it into the ground.

Boom!

The creature shattered.

Again, the black particles rose.

Again, another crack opened.

Again, something emerged.

And this time Liam saw it clearly.

The new creature moved exactly like Leonid.

Not similar.

Exactly.

Its speed.

Its movements.

Its reaction time.

Even the way it shifted its weight before attacking.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

”Stop.”

Leonid immediately backed away.

The creature stood several metres from him.

It slowly tilted its head.

Liam looked toward everyone.

”Nobody kill anything.”

Tatiana frowned.

”What?”

”Nobody.”

Agatha looked confused.

”Why?”

”Because we’re making them stronger.”

Silence.

Liam pointed toward the creature that had emerged after Leonid’s attack.

”It copied him.”

Leonid’s expression became serious.

Liam continued.

”The first creature was already strong, but after Tatiana killed it, the next one became stronger and started displaying abilities similar to hers.”

Tatiana’s eyes widened.

”And after Leonid killed one...”

”It copied Leonid.”

Mary looked toward the remaining creatures.

”So they’re evolving?”

”Not exactly.”

Liam’s eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.

”I think they’re transferring something.”

Gregor swallowed.

”What?”

Liam didn’t answer immediately.

He was thinking.

The creatures hadn’t simply become stronger.

Each new one possessed something belonging to the person who killed the previous one.

That meant the battlefield wasn’t creating random monsters.

It was learning from them.

Liam looked toward the creature with frost covering its arms.

Then toward Irina.

”Irina.”

She immediately understood.

”You want me to attack?”

”No.”

Liam pointed toward the creature.

”Use your ice.”

Irina hesitated.

Then she raised her hand.

The temperature around them dropped instantly.

Ice spread across the ground.

A stream of frost shot forward and wrapped around the creature.

The monster’s body froze.

For several seconds, it couldn’t move.

Irina maintained it.

”Like this?”

”Yes.”

Liam watched carefully.

The creature struggled.

Its body cracked.

But it didn’t die.

Nothing happened.

No new creature appeared.

Liam’s eyes brightened.

”There.”

Agatha understood first.

”We aren’t supposed to kill them.”

”Exactly.”

Liam nodded.

”I think that’s the first rule.”

Tatiana looked toward the battlefield.

”So what do we do with them?”

Liam stared at the six creatures.

”We keep them alive.”

The words sounded ridiculous.

They had entered a region filled with hostile creatures.

Their natural reaction was to kill anything that attacked them.

Yet that was exactly what the challenge seemed to want.

The moment they killed something, the battlefield changed.

Liam slowly looked around.

”Don’t attack them.”

The group began following his instructions.

Irina froze one.

Mary created magical restraints around another.

Agatha summoned thick chains of dark energy that wrapped around a third.

Gregor created a barrier beneath another creature, trapping its legs.

Tatiana physically grabbed one and forced it against the ground.

Leonid used his speed to distract the final creature, constantly moving around it without striking.

For the first time since the challenge began, the battlefield became quiet.

Six creatures.

Six prisoners.

None were dead.

Nothing new appeared.

Liam stared at them.

His breathing remained steady.

Then he smiled faintly.

”I knew it.”

Tatiana looked at him.

”You figured it out?”

”Part of it.”

”What’s the rest?”

Liam opened his mouth.

Before he could answer, the unseen voice returned.

This time it sounded almost amused.

”Very good.”

Everyone froze.

The guardian was watching.

”You have understood the first lesson.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

First lesson.

Not the challenge.

The first lesson.

The voice continued.

”But tell me...”

The ground suddenly began to tremble.

”Did you truly think restraint was enough?”

The six creatures suddenly disappeared.

Not died.

Not dissolved.

They simply vanished.

The restraints fell empty.

The ice shattered against nothing.

The magical chains collapsed to the ground.

Everyone stared.

Then the world changed.

The mountains disappeared.

The sky changed.

The ground beneath their feet shifted.

For one brief instant, Liam felt as though reality itself had been turned upside down.

Then everything became normal again.

The same field.

The same mountains.

The same horses.

The same people.

Liam looked around.

Nothing seemed different.

Leonid frowned.

”What just happened?”

Nobody answered.

Liam slowly looked toward the ground.

The creatures were gone.

The cracks were gone.

Everything looked exactly as it had when they first entered the region.

Then Tatiana suddenly spoke.

”Wait.”

Everyone turned toward her.

She looked confused.

”Why does this place feel familiar?”

Liam’s expression changed.

He slowly turned toward the mountains.

The same mountains.

The same field.

The same position of the sun.

His eyes widened slightly.

”No...”

Leonid looked at him.

”What?”

Liam stared at the landscape.

”We’re back where we started.”

Silence.

The unseen guardian said nothing.

But somewhere beyond their sight, something was watching.

And for the first time, Liam realized that defeating the creatures had never been the goal.

They had only completed the first move.

The real challenge had just begun.