Becoming the Dark Lord [LitRPG]

Luke and Allison were deep inside the capital's inner forest, a wild patch of land swallowed by the city long ago. Allison was in the middle of a fight, surrounded by beasts and undead that lunged at her from every direction.

Luke watched from the top of a half-collapsed building nearby, sitting on the edge of the roof with one leg dangling. From where he sat, he could see the aftermath of her power, frozen corpses scattered across the street, each one gleaming like an ice sculpture. That was one of her profession's skills: every enemy she killed could be instantly frozen, turned into art made of frost and silence.

She was training to chain multiple skills at once, balancing her mana output while pushing her control to the limit. Luke had taken some time to understand how her bloodline worked, the Heart of the Ice Dragon. The heart of a dragon was its core, the very source of its power, and Allison's came from a bloodline of frost dragons.

The difference between her skills and those of any other mage lucky enough to unlock the [Ice] element was staggering. The [Ice] element itself was considered Common, simple in function but incredibly hard to obtain. Like Charlie's [Flame], it wasn't powerful by default but served as the foundation for countless advanced skills. Elemental power was rare precisely because it meant something profound: your mana was naturally in harmony with that element.

Allison had told him that awakening an elemental affinity was something difficult to achieve. A mage could cast fireballs or lightning bolts or magnet-based spells, but having the element tied to those skills amplified them to an entirely different level.

That was where Allison's bloodline truly shone. The Heart of the Ice Dragon infused her magic with draconic winter energy, reinforcing every ice spell she cast. A simple ice ball from her could hit with devastating power, scaling with both her level and her bloodline's growth.

But there was more. Her bloodline grew stronger the more ice-based skills she learned. Every new skill was like a drop of water filling a glass, each one feeding into her Heart of the Ice Dragon. As the glass filled, her bloodline became denser, colder, stronger, amplifying all her magic even further.

That was why Allison chose a profession centered on ice rather than diversifying her skills like most people did. While others chased variety, she chased depth. Every frost-based skill was fuel for her inner dragon heart, a bonfire fed one icicle at a time. That bloodline skill was extremely powerful in the long run, after all, she came from a family of legendary dragons.

And here I was, Luke thought , feeling smug about my Acid Blood Arrow.

He watched in quiet awe as the street transformed into a frozen battlefield. Snow blanketed the ground, and undead corpses stood immortalized as crystalline statues. Every step the creatures took through the frost slowed them down, their movements turning sluggish until they collapsed from the creeping cold. The nearer they got to Allison, the faster they froze, their bodies cracking under invisible pressure.

That was why Luke kept his distance. The air around her shimmered with frost, every breath she exhaled leaving a swirl of icy mist.

There was another layer to her power, a terrifying one. The colder she made her surroundings, the stronger her skills became. Which made being anywhere near her when she went all out a very bad idea. It didn't make her immune to the cold or to frost damage in general. She was only resistant to her own magic, the boost only triggered when she froze the environment herself.

She's basically a walking artillery unit that can handle entire hordes on her own.

Luke couldn't help being impressed.

"I did it!" she shouted from down the street, her voice echoing through the snow.

He blinked. Did what?

She must have read the confusion on his face. "My class's level 60 epic skill!"

Before he could respond, she sprinted toward him, or rather, glided. Her boots barely touched the snow as she slid across the street, then used a double jump to leap onto the rooftop where he sat.

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"I even picked it already," she said, eyes bright with excitement.

"Weren't you, like, level fifty-two?"

"Nope."

As she came closer, Luke flinched. The temperature dropped sharply, stabbing through his clothes. Within seconds, he felt the instinctive need to dive into a blanket and never come out.

"Cold!" he said, stepping back. "Way too cold."

It wasn't the kind of chill that came from a cloudy morning; it was worse. The kind of cold that burned, the kind that made fire and frost feel like two sides of the same agony.

"Sorry!" she said quickly, realizing what she'd done.

Her skin had taken on a faint blue hue, which slowly faded back to pale as she calmed her aura. The air began to warm again, though Luke's breath still hung in the air.

"At least it's a nice reminder of what's waiting for us when we trigger the third mechanism," he muttered, rubbing his arms.

She flicked her fingers through the air, clearly selecting something on her system screen.

"Just picked my epic skill," she said.

"I thought you still had a few levels to go."

She grinned. "I lied to the soldiers. Told you, I just wanted a break."

Luke chuckled. "Can't blame you. I'm doing the same thing."

"So," he asked, "what's the skill?"

"I don't want to spoil it," she said with a teasing smile. "Come watch me test it."

Allison took off running down the snow-covered street, her boots kicking up mist with every step. Luke sighed, smirked, and followed after her.

***

They reached another street in the capital, its cracked pavement littered with bones and the faint stench of decay. The undead stood motionless for a moment, their hollow eyes flicking toward the newcomers when Allison let out a sharp whistle.

She raised her hand and fired several iceballs into the air. They exploded with a burst of frost and sound, drawing the horde's attention instantly.

"What's the name of the skill?" Luke asked.

The dead began charging toward them, their guttural snarls echoing through the ruined street. The sound of bones rattling and rotting flesh dragging across the ground rumbled like distant thunder. Allison didn't answer. She took a deep breath, and the air around her seemed to freeze with her. A white mist escaped her lips before she even released the power. Luke instinctively took a few steps to the side.

Then she blew.

The wind roared. A burst of glacial air exploded from her mouth, fierce and alive. The ground iced over in an instant. The gust turned into a torrent of blue and white, sweeping forward like an avalanche of pure cold tearing through the street.

The undead were swallowed whole. One by one, they froze mid-charge, their flesh crystallizing, their eyes locking in terror. When the last one fell, silence reclaimed the world. The street was now a graveyard of glittering statues, frozen bodies gleaming under the pale light.

Allison breathed out slowly, the vapor drifting from her lips like ghostly smoke. A faint smile curved her mouth. "Combined with my profession's skill to turn corpses into ice sculptures, every frozen body now acts as a source of cold for the area." She paused, clearly pleased with herself. "And the name of the skill is Dragon's Breath."

"Yeah, that's both badass and appropriately named."

Luke's gaze swept over the frozen corpses, their faces twisted in eternal terror.

"Not every enemy gets fully frozen," Allison added. "Stronger ones just take frost damage and move slower for a while. But it's perfect for wiping out a crowd."

Luke pulled a small rune from his pocket, the one linked to his potential familiar. He tilted it in his palm so the creature inside could see the aftermath of Allison's attack. "So, Beast Lord, feeling inspired to become her familiar? You two have a lot in common. Both adorable little monsters."

"No."

The curt answer came so quickly that Luke actually blinked. Franky rarely spoke to anyone besides him or Artemis.

He tucked the rune back into his pocket.

"Seems your familiar's a tough one to impress," Allison said, smirking as they started walking again.

Allison knew about the reward he received after killing the Beast Lord. He had to tell her, since they were hoping it might be something useful for the upcoming war. But only she knew the truth, and she had already warned the others that it wouldn't be anything they could use.

Luke didn't really care who ended up forming a pact with Franky. Whether it was him or Allison, he just wanted all the help they could get to survive this place and return to Earth.

"So, what about that amazing skill you mentioned?" Allison asked. "The one Charlie unlocked at level forty-five, in her Pugilist class?"

"It's not quite as flashy as Dragon's Breath," he said, "but it's still something special."

"What is it?"

"I'd rather not spoil the surprise," Luke replied, giving her a faint grin. "When Charlie gets back from her hunt with Anne, you'll see for yourself."