Primordial Lust System

"Found you." Aurelian smirked under his breath, eyeing another group of slimes, only this one was far larger.

Their frames towered over three meters, a bluish hue coloring their surfaces. A glance with his appraisal revealed their level-ten rank.

Not that rank mattered much right now. He scoffed, his figure darting straight at them, the additional attributes of his gauntlets coming into play. His body blurred before his targets, and before they could register anything, he was already in front of them.

Wasting no time, he swiped his blades across the first slime, tearing through its flesh before heading to the next. The first slime spaced out, momentarily losing focus before blanking out, its body collapsing to the ground, lifeless, its soul drifting into his blades.

Shhhhhhh! A sizzling sound from his back drew his attention as he watched one of the slimes shoot a vat of acid at him. Only the result wasn't as expected. The metallic sheen encapsulating him flickered for a bit, a misty air erupting from him as he cooled down. Other than that, there were no damages.

"Well, sucks to be you!" He smirked, turning sharply as he pierced both blades into its body, then moved on as soon as the notification blinked in front of him.

And just like that, what could only be described as a one-man massacre erupted as Aurelian pierced his blades into every slime. Their fate was inevitable, their acid useless against him, their attacking speed rendered meaningless. All they could do was watch as spectral blades tore them apart. Their souls were not spared either, as they were absorbed too.

Some did try to escape, of course.

"You're going to need to put a little bit more effort if you want to escape," Aurelian breathed, watching the slimes, their figures encapsulated in a blue sheen as they darted into the distance. Their speed was surprisingly fast, but that was all it was.

Smirking faintly, he raised one of his blades, drawing it closer to his face, his eyes locking onto the two retreating slimes before whispering, "Go forth."

He released his grasp over it, watching it hover in the air before him, buzzing excitedly before shooting off into the distance, leaving a black spectral beam wherever it passed. A sickening splat echoed as the blade found its target on one of the slimes, tearing its body open, corroding its innards, before it dislodged itself. Its surface shifted trajectory before piercing into the second beast, killing it immediately, as its soul drifted back into the blade, some of the energy slamming into Aurelian.

His mind was clear as it could be, his thought process frighteningly fast. The battle before him unfolded like a massive chessboard game he had already won before it even began.

"Good sword," he breathed softly, the blade falling back into his grasp, buzzing intensely at the praise.

"You'll have your chance to shine too." His smile shifted as he turned his attention to the other blade, watching it buzz equally as intensely, only in a combative flair.

From another point of view, it would all seem weird, absurd even, a youth speaking to a pair of swords, and probably even to his former self—but not anymore.

As he continued to tap into the full power of the blades, the connection he felt between them, the feelings that erupted from them, left no doubt they had long grown sentient.

He didn't know if this was unique to him, or if, as people grew stronger, their bonds with their awakened talents would grow stronger.

"Whatever," he breathed helplessly, shifting his attention to the slew of dead slimes, a wave of disappointment washing over him. "Seems like the soul energy from the fallen beasts is useless in soul progression and advancing the range of my sphere of soul detection."

Were they too weak to fuel his soul progression, or were only human souls capable of advancing it? He mused, sinking deeper into his thoughts. Maybe I'll put that theory to the test next time, he breathed, regaining his composure, his eyes lighting up in a swirling abyssal and crimson glow, the hunger for power flaring back.

"This is going a little slower than anticipated," he muttered. His killing rate was still slower to his liking. The monsters he was going to encounter would only grow stronger, and their numbers would increase, meaning some were bound to flee. But he couldn't have that. He'd be damned if he let any potential dungeon points slip from his fingers just because he was slow.

Following that train of thought, he inhaled sharply before muttering, "Allocate all unallocated attributes to agility!"

[ +22 Agility ] a ring chimed in his head as he issued the command. All the energy he had been hoarding in his vortex of doom, combined with the attributes gained from leveling up, surged into his body, slamming into him with torrents of warm energy, all flowing across his frame, molding him into a vessel of raw speed. The pain was only natural at this point, but he bore it easily as it reconfigured his structure. Before long, it was all done.

He suddenly took a deep breath, feeling the energy buzzing intensely in his body, begging for release. His body felt lighter, and for the briefest moment, he could swear he felt the world slow down. He didn't know if it was an illusion or if the additional agility also boosted the speed of his mental processing. All in all, it felt exhilarating. Now all that was left was to let it loose.

He cracked a grin, crouching as his joints cracked softly. Then, with a sudden blast, his figure vanished, rippling through the air and leaving mirages behind as he shot forth to the deepest parts of the dungeon, the ground beneath him cracking into microfractures wherever he passed.

As all this unfolded, Aurelian grinned, adrenaline surging through his veins, the thrill of battle sparkling in his eyes.

The beasts he encountered in this state collapsed helplessly under the onslaught of his attacks, not even knowing how they died as his figure flickered across their bodies, leaving shallow cuts as they all fell lifeless. Not one was spared under his barrage, and as it continued, his strikes became indiscernible, only black mirages of his blades trailing behind his wake. Myriads of notifications flooded his vision as a smug grin crept across his face.

"Maybe I am something of a swordsman myself," he nodded to himself.

[Level 22: 30,000 / 30,000]

[Ding! Congratulations, host has leveled up!]

[Level 23: 35,000 / 35,000]

[Ding! Congratulations, host has leveled up!]

[Level 24: 3,000 / 40,000]

"Just a little bit more," Aurelian breathed, drawing his blade from the corpse of a level-18 acidic slime.

He was getting closer to his goal. He nodded, watching the corpses disintegrate into motes of energy before spiraling into him, the souls flickering into the twin blades.

Just as he was about to resume his massacre, a notification suddenly blinked in front of him, pausing him in place.

[Ding! You have absorbed enough souls of the fallen, imbuing you with meta energy. You have successfully awakened Metaphysical Vision.]