No More Pain For This Villain.

[A/N: Thank you for your patience, or should I say, for enduring my writing antics! After a brief period of rest, which mainly consisted of me staring at a blank screen, contemplating the meaning of life, and eating copious amounts of snacks, I am back at it again! Here I am, ready to dive into the second volume and bring you more thrilling adventures, ridiculous plot twists, and of course, shameless cliffhangers. So sit back, relax, and prepare yourself for a rollercoaster ride through "Volume 2: The Storyline of the World." And hey, don't forget to show some extra love this time, because, let's be honest, I need all the validation I can get! Cheers!]

Volume 2: The Storyline Of The World.

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The Nightshade Sanctum.

Year: 1738

Date: 19th

Month: Equinoxia

Time: 11:30 pm

...

[Fourth Floor - Cavern of Chaos]

[Ren Hilton's POV]

Sigh...

"What is this thing?" I wondered as I held the azure flame in my palm, examining it carefully.

It resembles fire, but it's different from the flames I usually conjure. It has the same appearance as Blaze, but it seems more like a spirit. Unlike Blaze, I can control this one—I can determine its location, shape, and other aspects. Yes, I have control over it.

Gathering the azure flame above my palm, I ensured that I captured every single bit of it in one go... and voila! A pulsating neon ball hovered in front of me.

Now, watch this. I closed my palm, simultaneously shutting my eyes. The neon flame tried to disperse, but I held it in place by adding a few layers of mana above it. It's like layering one upon another, holding its shape like water in a cup. In this case, mana is the cup, and the azure flame is the water.

Using the mana, I molded the flame, bringing the edges into slick, straight lines on both ends. Then, I gently bent the arc and condensed its form...

"Good," I muttered as I opened my eyes. I had successfully shaped the azure energy into a riser, or in simpler terms, I had crafted a bow out of it. However, there was one problem.

"It's not suitable for attacking," I thought to myself. Initially, I believed that I had stumbled upon a hidden mana energy that would make me the strongest of all. But to my disappointment, this thing is not meant for causing harm. It remains calm and stationary, serving a different purpose altogether.

And also the point that the amount is also just too little, it's like someone put a fragment.....a fragment?

"Haa," I retracted the flames back into my body, and they immediately settled near my mana core.

"Smokeball, have you found anything unusual inside my body other than this thing?" I asked, hoping Blaze could provide some insight. I wanted him to investigate and determine if there was anything else besides the so-called Soul Tracker or the battery core.

'Nope, there's nothing else in your body except for an empty brain,' Blaze replied via mental note as he emerged. I chose to ignore his joke.

"You knew about this azure flame beforehand, didn't you?" I was certain that Blaze had some knowledge about this mysterious flame but was unwilling to share the information with me. I even went as far as threatening to shut him down using the system, but he remained tight-lipped, insisting that we wait until we reach the tenth floor. He refused to communicate with me directly and only relied on mental communication.

Getting up I dust off my clothes.... clothes? I looked down at myself and noticed the only clothes that I was able to bring here and was wearing were nothing but mere rags,it doesn't even cover anything .

"Sh*t! I'd have to buy new ones when I get outside." It's kinda uncomfortable to move around without clothes even if you know that there's no one seeing you.

Picking up the Emberclad Colossuss sword I checked the system panel for it and yes I had to connect the Azure Flame Aka the battery core to my mana core to access the system.

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Weapon Panel:

Name: Emberclad Colossus's Sword

Type: One-handed Sword

Stats:

- Damage: 150-180

- Attack Speed: 1.2 attacks per second

- Magic Affinity: 60% effectiveness

- Elemental Enhancement: Fire (+30% fire damage)

- Durability: 20/300

- Weight: 10 pounds

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"Gotta find a new weapon," I looked at the durability stat and was sure that it would break after killing a couple hundred goblins.

Swiping the system panel, I looked into the store and my stats. There were a few changes after I defeated the elemental dragon on this floor.

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[Status Window]

Name: Ren Hilton

Age: 16

Strength: 90/100

Mana: 91/100

Intelligence: 9.2/10

Attributes:

- Fire (900/1000)

- Lightning (780/1000)

Spirits: 1/2

Skills:

1) Body Strengthening

2) Fireball

3) Inferno Bolt

4) Fire Tornado

5) Lightning Spear

Etc... (12+)

Bloodline: Human

Race: Human

Bloodline Potential: 90%

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"Sniff* You've made quite a progress. I am proud of you, Princess," Wiping his non-existent tears, Blaze complimented me. Why does he act like a parent who's happy with their child's success?

"You think so? All I can see is that I am close to hitting the wall right now. Everyone we'll face in the future is going to be at least stronger than this." I continued, "And Adam might be five stars by now, and he's not even close to his bloodline limit. The goddess hasn't even blessed him until now!"

It's true that Adam doesn't know who his parents are, but I do. His bloodline potential is not normal, but when he's blessed by the goddess Ellora herself, he'll be stronger than ever. But... who gives a fuck? I am more anxious about my own potential.

"System Store." The new thing is that the store has changed, and now it's -

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 Store Lv: 2

Blood Points: (9168) 

Certainly! Here's a list of unique items and their uses, along with their prices in blood points:

1. Shadowbane Dagger - A dagger imbued with dark magic, capable of weakening the defenses of enemies. (Price: 2000 blood points)

2. Astral Cloak - A cloak that allows the wearer to phase through solid objects for a short period, granting temporary invisibility. (Price: 500 blood points)

3. Gauntlet of Strength - Increases the damage done by physical attacks. (Price: 800 blood points)

4. Orb of Illusion - Can be used once. (Price: 1000 blood points)

....

....

....

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"Purchase one Astral Cloak, Shadowbane Dagger, a Gauntlet of Strength, and five second-grade mana potions and healing potions." I bought a bunch of items from the store and heard a ding noise, confirming that the points had been deducted. The feeling was somewhat similar to swiping a credit card when you're hesitant about the purchase.

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Purchase Complete:

1. Astral Cloak:

- Description: A cloak that allows the wearer to phase through solid objects for a short period, granting temporary invisibility.

- Price: 500 blood points

- Durability: 60/100

- Special Ability: Phasing through solid objects for up to 10 minutes per use.

- Strength Bonus: None

2. Shadowbane Dagger:

- Description: A dagger imbued with dark magic, capable of weakening the defenses of enemies.

- Price: 2000 blood points

- Durability: 80/100

- Special Ability: Inflicts a debuff on enemies, reducing their defense by 20% for 30 seconds per successful hit.

- Strength Bonus: +5% damage to shadow-based creatures.

3. Gauntlet of Strength:

- Description: Increases the damage done by physical attacks.

- Price: 800 blood points

- Durability: 90/100

- Special Ability: Enhances physical strength, increasing damage by 10% for all physical attacks.

- Strength Bonus: None

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And now, let's move on to the next floor without wasting any more time.

"Just to clarify, don't worry, the next floor is a safe zone. This dungeon has safe zones scattered throughout, just like any normal dungeon. Currently, there's one on the 5th floor, then on the 15th, and so on." Blaze clarified, coming clean about the existence of these safe zones. It was better for him to be honest rather than hiding this information and springing it on me later.

"Well, that's a relief. I'm tired of feasting on rotten monsters." Since I didn't bring any food with me, I had to resort to eating the monsters I killed, like Kobolds and others. It's just a myth that eating monsters is harmful. As long as you consume the edible parts, you'll be fine.

The safe zone we were referring to is a particular floor with lush green trees, abundant wildlife, and water—basically, a complete ecosystem. Many adventurers set up camps on these floors while exploring the dungeon.

...

[A few minutes later]

"You lied," I said, my voice as cold as ice.

"No, I didn't," Blaze responded awkwardly, his gaze fixed ahead.

"Yes, you did!" That damn bastard!

As I arrived at what was supposed to be the safe zone, my heart sank. Instead of the lush oasis I had anticipated, a desolate and barren land stretched before me. The air was heavy with silence, broken only by the howling wind that whipped through the broken door leading to the next floor. The landscape was devoid of life, with cracked earth and scattered rocks as far as the eye could see. It was a stark reminder of the harsh reality of the dungeon, a treacherous environment where safety was a fleeting illusion.

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