The white space of the simulator surrounded Lian once again.
But this time, there was no feeling of victory or satisfaction inside him, he just stood there and stared at an unknown point.
For the first time in this simulator, he had lost, he was truly confused, he had not been injured, and he had not even found a chance to fight.
He had not even managed to properly see his enemy, he had simply died, just like that, and the worst part was that he did not even understand how.
The defeat was so humiliating that even he laughed, even in the worst battles he had ever fought, he had always been able to at least land one or two hits on his enemy.
In every battle before, even when the situation looked hopeless, there had always been a reason. He could always find his mistake.
But this time? Nothing.
Before he could even get the chance to understand what kind of monster he was facing, he was killed, as if someone had suddenly pressed the off button of his mind.
Lian slowly took a deep breath.
"I missed something...I need to check it again."
He knew it was impossible for him to die just like that, even if the gap in power between them was huge, there should have been at least the smallest sign of the other side attacking.
But this time, he only felt a terrible headache and then boom! He was dead.
"Could it be?" Something came to his mind, but he needed to make sure.
The AI’s voice echoed through the white space.
[ Combat Log Available. ]
[ Replay Available. ]
Without any delay, he selected the replay option. The image of the ruined palace appeared once again.
The dark hallway, the old walls, the cold moonlight and then...that creature.
It appeared for a fraction of a second.
Lian paused the scene.
He played it again from the beginning.
And again.
And again.
And again.
But every time, the result was the same, the creature appeared, looked at him for a brief moment and less than one second later...
You Have Died.
There was no physical contact recorded, no trace of mana waves, there was no energy attack, and no direct contact had happened.
It was as if death itself had appeared from nowhere and swallowed him.
Lian frowned.
He opened the report once again, this time not to watch the image, but to check the data, the enemy type, the level, the environment, and the recorded details.
Several full minutes passed in silence.
His mind was working like a machine.
Hidden Area, Fallen Monster, First Evolution, Special Environment.
A Fallen Monster that had gone through its first evolution was an enemy he knew he might not be able to defeat.
But he had never thought he would die without any direct or physical attack.
And then...suddenly something flashed through his mind, his eyes narrowed a little.
Spirit.
He opened his status screen.
Strength : 268
Spirit : 5
Speed : 196
Mana : 286
Resistance : 185
Stat Points : 203
For several seconds, he only stared at the number five.
Five.
It was almost funny, his strength had reached a level where he could destroy normal monsters, even Level 25 ones.
His speed was higher than many Awakened below Level 25.
His mana was insane.
But his Spirit? Five.
The number of someone who had almost no resistance against soul attacks.
Spirit was one of the most important stats, a stat that was directly connected to the soul and the mind.
The amount of this stat decided the defensive and offensive power of the soul and the mind, the higher it was, the stronger, faster and clearer the soul and the mind became.
Which allowed Awakened to understand Skill Books much faster, make decisions faster, react faster and think faster.
And after Mana, it was the most important stat for mages.
Little by little, the full picture became clear.
"Soul attack..." He quietly whispered the words, it was the most logical answer.
Not a physical attack, not mana, not energy, but something that directly targeted the mind and the soul.
And he had almost no defense against it, for the first time in a long time, Lian had found a real weakness.
A weakness that could not be solved with more speed or more strength, if today he faced a specialist in mental attacks...
They might be more dangerous than a Level 30 monster or even a stronger one.
Not because of the enemy’s power, but because of his own weakness, and this was not only about monsters.
Humans could also use this weakness against him.
Families, organizations, Awakened who were his rivals or enemies, if they had any way to use soul attacks ( Soul Attacks ), he would be completely doomed, he would lose without having any chance to fight.
All of them could.
Lian then looked at his stats, all of them were very high, but Spirit? It was a disaster.
He made his decision, his hand moved across the screen.
[ Spirit : 5 → 150 ]
One hundred and forty-five stat points disappeared in a single moment.
[ Stat Points : 58 ]
For several seconds, nothing happened, and then...a strange feeling started from deep inside him.
It was not like gaining strength, it was not like gaining speed, this feeling was different, it was as if a thick fog that had covered his mind for years had disappeared.
His thoughts became clearer, his focus became deeper, he could even hear the sound of his own breathing more clearly.
His control over mana became smoother, he felt that his mind was working in a much more organized way than before.
He closed his eyes, silence, calmness and stability, when he opened his eyes again, his gaze was different.
"Interesting..." Until now, he had never had the chance to increase his Spirit, until now, the chance had never come, and he had never seen any use for it.
But now he understood, and realized how big of a mistake that was, luckily, before he faced a monster in the real world that could kill him with a mental attack, he fixed this weakness here.
Then he activated the simulation once again.
The same place, the same palace, the same hallway and the same enemy.
[ Simulation Starting... ]
The white light disappeared and darkness returned, a cold wind moved through the broken walls of the palace.
The quiet sound of old chains could be heard in the air.
This time, Lian was ready, he took a few steps forward and then...he saw it.
At the end of the hallway, for a brief moment, the same pressure rushed into his mind again, as if thousands of needles were piercing his brain.
A terrible pain spread through his head, but this time...he did not die.
Lian took one step back and placed his hand on his forehead, the pain was still there, but it was bearable.
"So it really was a soul attack..." And now, for the first time, he was able to see the creature completely.
It was almost two meters tall, it had a humanoid body, but its face was nothing that could be called human.
Several eyes could be seen on its face, to be exact, eight eyes that were a mix of blue and gold.
Eyes that moved in different directions, a crown of twisted bones rested on its head, and on its lips...there was an unnatural and sick smile.
A smile that looked more like a crack on the face of a corpse than the smile of a living creature.
And surprisingly, it had no hands, instead of hands, it only had two purple bat-like wings.
Several of the creature’s eyes locked onto Lian at the same time.