Lifespan Burning System: Master Everything by Burning Lifespan!
Chapter 35: Silent steps

Chapter 35: Silent steps

Rhys felt a new understanding flow into his mind. It was the knowledge of the Silent Step lifeskill. He now knew exactly how to shift his weight.

He knew how to control his breathing to make no sound. He could walk across a floor of dry leaves and not make a single crunch.

This was more advanced than his Basic Stealth skill. He did not have to use Qi to activate it. Just like his other lifeskills, it was now a natural part of him.

It was a perfect replacement for his Ash Walker profession in this new environment.

The Ash Walker skill was powerful, but it had limitations. It only worked where there was ash. Silent Step worked everywhere.

He knew that once he obtained a profession core for this skill, it would become one of his major weapons for hunting.

The next few hours were spent hunting in the dark, blue-lit cavern. They explored the winding paths of the new area. A new teamwork dynamic formed between them.

Rhys was the hunter. He used his new Silent Step skill to move through the caverns like a ghost.

He hunted the Ordinary Shriek Bats one by one. His movements were quiet and efficient. He would sneak up below a sleeping bat, and with a single, quick throw of his dagger, the hunt would be over.

Yuki was his backup. She followed him silently, a few steps behind.

She was like a beautiful, silver-haired shadow. If Rhys ever made a mistake, she would act. Once, his foot slipped on a wet rock.

The small sound alerted a group of five bats. Before they could even shriek, Yuki waved her hand. Five small ice shards shot through the air, killing them all instantly.

She then walked over and calmly consumed their lifespan crystals to restore her energy. They were a perfect team. He was the silent killer. She was the powerful guardian.

Rhys collected more and more of the Shadowed Dive fragments. He was getting closer to his goal.

He felt a thrill of excitement with every new fragment he picked up. Finally, after a long and tense hunt, he killed his one-hundredth bat.

As the creature dissolved into purple light, it dropped the final piece he needed.

[100/100 Fragments collected.]

[Forging a Skill Core...]

[[Ordinary-Grade Apprentice Shadowed Dive Core] has been successfully created.]

Rhys took the new core in his hand. It was a small, dark sphere that felt cool to the touch. A smile crept onto his lips. He sat down on the cavern floor and absorbed the core into his body.

With his senses, he guided the new skill core into his internal dantian space. He led it to a specific micro-dantian where he had already placed his Ash Veil core.

He had made a decision to put cores of the same type into the same dantian. He would create specialised dantians for different types of builds.

In that way, he could avoid conflicts between his skills and the elements with which he would later bond.

He had 108 micro-dantians. That meant he could have 108 different types of builds. This was an unimaginable advantage. No ordinary cultivator could ever dream of such a thing.

The System confirmed his thoughts. Even if other cultivators learned the Meridian Opening method, they could not do what he was doing.

The strength and durability of the newly opened dantians depended on the cultivator’s constitution. His constitution was at the pinnacle of the mortal world.

Even if someone else had the same quality of body, it would be extremely rare. Also, not everyone would waste their time building so many different dantians.

They did not have the ability to learn so many different types of skills. That problem did not affect him. He had the System.

After he had completely absorbed the new skill core, the speed of their hunt increased a hundred times. He was no longer just walking silently.

He was a blur of motion, using Shadowed Dive to teleport from one shadow to another, killing bats before they even knew he was there.

Rhys also noticed that even after his speed had increased so much, Yuki always kept up with him. She moved with an effortless grace that made him realise how truly powerful she was.

He also started to analyse her characteristics. She appeared to be cold and emotionless on the outside, but he thought she was shy on the inside.

Whenever he praised her for a quick kill, he noticed a faint blush on her cheeks.

But she also had no shame.

Once, he told her he needed to urinate and asked her to move a bit further away.

She just looked at him with her big, blue eyes and said, "We cannot be left alone in the caverns. What if one of us gets lost?"

She did not even look away.

When he asked her to at least not look at him, her reply was simple.

"What is there that I cannot look at? You also looked at mine. And you even touched mine."

Rhys felt his face turn red. He could not argue with that. Every action and word from her also pointed to the fact that she was not human.

But the System was adamant that this was not true. Its point was that only Divine monsters could shapeshift into a perfect human form.

He had asked the System about the probability of her being a Divine monster.

[There is no way for a Divine monster to be this weak,] the System had replied.

’Weak,’ Rhys thought.

He leaned against the cavern wall, closing his eyes. They had been hunting for hours and had now decided to rest.

Yuki rested near him, her head leaning on his shoulder. It felt surprisingly natural.

’If she is weak, then what about me?’ he sighed. He gently pushed her face a bit away from his neck.

Who knew if she would suddenly decide to bite his throat for a snack?

[She is strong, that is for sure,] the System said.

[But not as strong as a Divine monster. You remember that Titan, right? To a Divine monster, a Titan is just a small snack. Every Divine monster starts from godhood, after all.]

’If you say so... then what is she?’

[That... I do not know. She is bonded with the Water element. She saw ’freezing’ as its property and chose it. And she has defined that freezing to a higher level, to the point she can even freeze time. She is special.]

’Okay, okay, stop glazing. Tell me what you have analysed from her.’

While they fought together, the System had also been analysing her. He had learned a lot about how to sense an element and how to choose a property.

He had already decided which element he would bond with first when he got out of the Labyrinth.

’Dark...’ he thought. It felt right. It matched his style.

And the property he would choose...

’Shadow.’