Farmboy becomes King with the Lust System

Meanwhile, Elise followed closely behind the group, her boots crunching softly against the uneven ground of the dungeon floor. The flickering light from their torches cast shifting shadows along the walls, stretching and shrinking with every step they took.

Her hands tightened, knuckles paling, not from fear but from frustration. She wished she could do more than just trail behind them, acting as the team's safety net for injuries. Watching Sun, Jae, and Ryn take the lead in battle again and again lit something inside her, a mixture of admiration and a pang of dissatisfaction.

She exhaled slowly and lowered her gaze to her boots as she walked

It wasn't as if she hadn't started working toward fixing that problem. The fighting style she had discovered the other day still burned vividly in her mind, each page of that book etched into her thoughts.

But reality had a cruel way of interfering with desire. Elise had barely begun practicing the techniques. She hadn't mastered even the most basic of the forms yet, and her body was still stiff when she tried to combine agility with casting.

So what choice did she have right now?

Her grip loosened slightly, her shoulders slumping by an inch as she admitted the answer to herself.

None.

For now, she had to accept the role she was given. She was the healer. Her job was to keep everyone alive, and she was good at it, even if it meant staying in the back where her frustration simmered quietly.

The group pressed on, weaving through cave after cave, each chamber with its own strange air. Some were narrow and suffocating, with walls that forced them to squeeze sideways to pass.

Others opened into vast hollow spaces, ceilings so high that their torchlight couldn't reach the top. Water dripped from unseen cracks above, echoing softly like an irregular heartbeat.

Each cave brought its own set of monsters waiting for them. Most were small and forgettable, dispatched easily by Sun's precise attacks,

Jae's fluid mana blade strikes, and Ryn's heavy gauntlet punches. Elise's role remained constant, heal minor cuts, restore stamina, and make sure none of them slowed down.

They moved like this for hours, constant fights and recovery, until they reached a cave that was wider than any they had seen so far. The air was heavier here, tinged with the musky scent of beasts, and there was a faint growl rumbling in the distance even before they saw what was ahead.

As they stepped forward, shapes moved at the far end of the chamber. Three large creatures turned slowly toward them, their massive frames outlined by the dim glow of light.

"Sasquatches," Sun muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing.

The monsters were easily twice the size of any of them, muscles bulging grotesquely beneath coarse hair, and each one carried arms thick enough to crush boulders.

There was no time for hesitation. Sun's body glowed faintly as he activated his Sovereign Vein, mana coursing visibly beneath his skin like pulsing rivers of light. With a sharp gesture, he released it in waves that wrapped around two of the sasquatches' legs, slowing their movements drastically.

It wasn't a perfect bind, they could still move, but their speed was cut, their swings sluggish enough for Sun to dodge with precision. He darted between them, his blade flashing arcs of light that sliced through thick fur and into flesh.

Jae moved for the third one, his eyes scanning its movements carefully. The creature swung at him with its huge arm, the air whistling as the blow cut close, but Jae's body twisted aside in a smooth dodge.

His mana blade ignited with a low hum, and in one quick slash, he cut into the beast's leg. The monster roared, staggering as it dropped slightly to one knee, giving Jae the perfect foothold.

He leapt onto its body, each step calculated as he ran upward toward its head. The sasquatch flailed, trying to swat him off, but Jae's strikes were faster. One clean, decisive swing across its neck, and the head toppled, severed in an instant

The massive body crumpled forward, shaking the ground.

Meanwhile, Ryn faced off against the second slowed sasquatch, his gauntlets glowing with faint orange light. The creature's punch came fast despite the restriction of Sun's magic, but Ryn met it head‑on, blocking it with both forearms.

A loud crack echoed through the cave, not from Ryn's bones, but from the monster's knuckles colliding with hardened mana‑reinforced metal.

The sasquatch's face twisted in confusion. It hadn't expected its overwhelming strength to be stopped so cleanly, let alone to feel pain shooting back up its own arm.

Ryn smirked faintly at the expression and shifted his stance lower.

One sharp punch slammed into the beast's knee, followed by another to the side of its thigh. The combination forced the sasquatch down onto one leg, its balance broken. Ryn took the opening without hesitation, his fist rocketing upward in a brutal strike that connected with its head.

The impact reverberated up his arm, but the effect was instant, the monster collapsed face‑first into the dirt.

Sun finished his opponents with clean, efficient strikes, his breathing steady as the glow of his Sovereign Vein faded.

The echoes of battle died slowly, leaving behind only the sound of the team's breathing and the faint drip of water from the stalactites above.

As usual, the defeated monsters left behind their glowing crystals, scattered around the floor like drops of frozen light. They stooped to collect them.

Elise moved among them silently, her hand glowing as she sent waves of healing energy over their bodies. Cuts closed, bruises faded, and any lingering strain melted away.

Once she was done, she fell back into her usual position behind them, and they began moving again, deeper into the dungeon's twisting paths.

XXX

Outside the dungeon, the atmosphere was completely different. The sun filtered through patches of drifting clouds, spilling light over the camp that had been set up around the entrance.

Soldiers guarded the barricade, their spears gleaming dully and armor clinking softly whenever they shifted position.

Princess Yuna stood just beyond the edge of the restricted area, her dress brushing faintly against the dusty ground. She had both hands on her hips, her brows furrowed slightly as she recalled the exchange she'd had with the guard earlier.

He had been reluctant, no, more like stubbornly insistent, that she couldn't cross the barricade. His tone had been polite but firm, his stance unyielding.

But she was the princess.

And in the end, that trumped everything.

"I'm the princess," she had said, voice calm but edged with authority. It wasn't something she pulled out often, but when she did, people rarely pushed back.

As expected, the guard had eventually stepped aside, though with visible reluctance, and allowed her to pass into the restricted perimeter.

Now, as she stood there, the reason she had gone through the trouble was clear in her chest.

Yes, part of it was curiosity. She wanted to see the monsters everyone was talking about, to witness firsthand what kind of dungeon had appeared so close to the academy.

But mostly, it was because she wanted to be closer to Jae.

Her fingers brushed against the edge of her sleeve absently as she thought about him inside that cave, fighting who‑knew‑what kinds of beasts. The idea of him getting hurt made her stomach twist, though she quickly pushed the feeling away and straightened her back.