Farmboy becomes King with the Lust System

The echo of the Shadow Monarch's voice lingered in his skull, oily and heavy, whispering temptation that still crawled down his spine. But he gritted his teeth, forced the haze away, and drew a long breath. He was not going to break here.

The ground beneath them shuddered violently. From the heart of the towering black obelisk, a deep vibration rolled outward, followed by an ear-splitting crack. The air thickened with corrupted magic, almost suffocating in its density. Then the shadows themselves began to twist and knot, folding in on one another until they birthed something massive.

The creature that emerged was a nightmare made flesh, a shadowbeast the size of a small fortress, its form constantly shifting, never settling into one true shape.

It had three terrifying modes of being. In its Tank Form, it was like a living fortress of armor-plated darkness, every strike glancing harmlessly off its body.

When battered hard enough, it Split, its form tearing apart into six smaller, much faster versions of itself, each one weaker but far more agile, darting across the battlefield like living blades.

And when enough of those were destroyed, they would bleed into one another, the liquid darkness re-fusing into its original colossal shape, even more aggressive than before.

Byun immediately reacted, shadows whipping up around his hands as his instincts kicked in. With precise, almost surgical control, he spread his darkness outward across the field, weaving a deadly network of invisible tripwires.

They were thin enough to go unnoticed, but charged with a paralysis effect, any part of the beast's form that brushed against them would seize up for a brief but precious moment.

Above, the Principal hovered, his hands raised. Light magic flared between his palms, then hardened into spear-like lances of pure radiance.

With the focus of a master, he hurled them down one after another, each one slamming into the beast's shadowflesh with bursts of burning brilliance.

It took a few exchanges before they adapted to the monster's rhythm. When it charged in its tank form, Byun would bait it into crossing one of his shadow tripwires, locking its movement for a fraction of a second.

That was all the Principal needed to send a lance of light straight into its exposed joint or the faint glimmer of a core beneath its shifting armor.

When the beast split into its faster forms, Byun's shadows whipped out like a fisherman's net, catching two or three at once, while the Principal moved with calculated precision, blasting them apart before they could regroup.

It was grueling. Every time they destroyed the beast's current form, it found a way to come back, either as scattered clones or as the massive original.

But eventually, their timing became perfect: Byun's paralysis fields locking the monster in place for just long enough, the Principal's light piercing deep enough to destabilize it from within.

The final blow came when the beast reformed one last time, roaring in fury. It lunged, crossing three of Byun's tripwires at once. The paralysis froze its legs mid-stride, and the Principal descended from above, gathering every scrap of light magic he could muster into a single, enormous spear.

He drove it straight into the monster's chest. The shadowbeast let out a deafening, hollow scream before collapsing in on itself, its form unraveling into wisps of darkness that evaporated into nothing.

The battlefield fell silent, except for the ominous, cracking sound from the obelisk itself.

Hairline fractures raced up and down the monolith, glowing faintly with unstable energy. The core within was no longer under control. The magic inside rippled wildly, distorting the air and making the ground hum like a living thing.

Even without the Principal saying it, they both knew: leaving it intact was impossible.

Elsewhere, far from the collapsing obelisk, Jae and his team were deep in their own fight. They had been clearing cave after cave for what felt like hours.

Jae did most of the heavy lifting, his strikes fast and decisive, but the girls fought well, each one holding her ground and contributing to their growing pile of beast crystals. Even with Elise boosting their stamina, fatigue was beginning to show.

Jae wiped sweat from his forehead and was about to suggest they rest when the system blinked to life in his vision.

A translucent map unfolded in the air before him, glowing faintly. At the far end of the labyrinth, a red dot pulsed steadily, the system's unmistakable signal of where it wanted him to go.

He didn't hesitate. "We're going there," he told them, already shifting his stance. The girls fell in behind him without question.

The journey took them through twisting tunnels and over jagged rock ledges, the air growing hotter with each step.

Finally, they reached a peculiar cave, its entrance was incredibly small, just barely wide enough for a grown man to squeeze through. Jae frowned, stepping closer.

"I'll check it first," he said, already moving before anyone could argue.

The stone was rough and cold against his arms and shoulders as he forced his way in. The narrowness made every movement awkward, and he had to twist his body sideways just to fit.

Halfway through, a sudden grinding sound echoed around him, the entrance was closing. He shoved at the stone instinctively, trying to wedge it open, but it sealed completely with a deep, final thunk.

Before he could call back to the others, a new system notification appeared before his eyes in stark, glowing letters.

New Quest: Defeat the Flame Dragon Lord and claim its first treasure.

Reward: Unlock new class.

Jae stared at the message for a heartbeat, the heat in the air suddenly making sense. Then he grinned. This was either going to be his biggest victory yet… or his hardest fight.

Back at the obelisk, the Principal knew time was running out. The cracks were spreading fast, and the magic inside had reached a pitch so high it was almost a scream. He planted his feet, drawing in a vast amount of light until his entire body shone like a small sun.

"Cover me," he said.

Byun didn't need to be told twice. Shadows swirled up around him, layering into a thick armor that cocooned the Principal's form, shielding him from the chaotic bursts of energy erupting from the obelisk's surface.

The two forces, light and shadow, worked in perfect tandem, holding against the violent backlash as the Principal began to channel a massive spell.

With a final surge, the Principal unleashed his magic. A colossal beam of light slammed into the obelisk, tearing through the unstable core.

For an instant, the entire structure glowed from within, then it imploded, sucking in rock, dust, and ambient magic like a whirlpool dragging the sea into itself.

The ground split beneath their feet. The air roared. Overhead, the sky began to tear apart like fragile paper, strips of reality peeling away to reveal the writhing void beyond.

The Realm was collapsing.