SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling-Chapter 65: The Grind

Luthra woke up at 4:30 AM, which was his normal time, except now he was doing it in a bed with silk sheets.

’Still not used to this.’

He rolled out of the oversized bed and dropped to the floor, immediately starting his push-ups. One, two, three, the rhythm came back to him like breathing. The silk carpet was soft under his palms, a far cry from the splintered wood of his old apartment.

By the time he hit five thousand, the sun was starting to peek through the curtains. His arms burned, his core ached, and for the first time in weeks, he felt like himself again.

’This is what real training feels like. Not relying on magic items or system advantages. Just me and the grind.’

He stood up, grabbed the chain from the corner, and began his forms. Swing, wrap, pull, strike. The heavy links moved through the air with a whistle, each movement precise and controlled. He practiced in silence, the only sound the chain cutting through empty space and his own breathing.

At ten thousand push-ups, he switched to squats. At twenty thousand, he moved to sit-ups. The old routine was coming back, and with it, the clarity of purpose he’d been missing.

’Silas was a fluke. I won because I had thirty thousand points to spend on a magic item. That’s not strength, that’s just shopping with extra steps.’

His muscles screamed at him to stop, but he pushed through. Fifteen thousand squats. Eighteen thousand. Twenty thousand.

’Kane is coming today. A real B-Rank hunter with years of experience. And I don’t have any items left to save me.’

The door opened without a knock, and Khorvash walked in, her scaled arms crossed over her chest. She watched him finish his set of squats before speaking.

"You’ve been at this for four hours straight. The sun’s been up for two of them."

"And?"

"And normal people eat breakfast. Or sleep. Or do literally anything other than destroy their bodies before a fight."

He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his face. "Normal people don’t fight B-Rank hunters."

"Fair point." She walked over to the window and looked out at the mines below. The freed slaves were already moving about, some working the equipment under Misha’s direction, others building new structures. "The community is coming together nicely. Misha has them organized into shifts, and Borris is training a security force. It actually looks like a real settlement now."

"Good."

"You know, for someone who built all this, you don’t seem very interested in it."

He started another set of push-ups. "I freed them because it was the logical thing to do. Misha runs it because she’s good at managing people. That’s the most efficient division of labor."

Khorvash snorted, small wisps of smoke coming from her nostrils. "You really are terrible at accepting compliments, aren’t you? I’m saying you did something good. You can just say thank you and move on."

"Thank you."

"That sounded incredibly insincere."

"It was meant to."

She kicked his leg lightly, not enough to hurt but enough to be annoying. "Kane’s reputation arrived before he did. Jako spent all night gathering information from Syndicate contacts. Apparently, he’s called the Juggernaut."

Luthra paused mid-push-up. "Creative."

"He’s a pure physical-type hunter, B-5 rank, and his Path is called Overwhelming Force. Basically, he hits things really hard, and they stop existing."

"Sounds simple."

"Simple is dangerous. He doesn’t have complicated powers to counter or strategies to predict. He just walks forward and breaks everything in his way. The Syndicate sends him when they want something completely destroyed."

Luthra finished his set and stood up. Thirty thousand push-ups done. His arms felt like lead, but the pain was familiar, almost comforting.

"When does he arrive?"

"Misha’s scouts saw him an hour ago. He’s riding alone on one of those wasteland lizards, taking his time. Should be here by noon."

"Good, that gives me four more hours."

Khorvash raised an eyebrow. "Four more hours to train, you’re going to collapse before the fight even starts."

"I collapsed yesterday and won anyway. Collapsing isn’t the problem."

"Luthra." Her voice was sharper now, the kind of tone that made people remember she was a dragon. "You can’t brute-force this one. Silas was a mage, someone you could outsmart and suppress with the right tool. Kane is a brawler, and from what I hear, he’s really good at it. If you try to out-muscle him when you’re already exhausted, you’re going to die."

He unwrapped the chain from around his arm and set it on the table. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Use your brain. You have a system that gives you advantages nobody else has. You have negative mana that can do things regular hunters can’t even imagine. Figure out how to make that work without relying on rare items or dumb luck."

’She’s right. I won against Silas because the Sigil of Binding shut down his entire Path. But I don’t have anything like that for Kane. And even if I did, what’s the point? Just buying victory after victory until I meet someone my points can’t handle?’

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Lilith."

The familiar blue screen materialized in front of him.

[Yes, Luthra?]

"What are my actual advantages against a B-5 physical-type hunter?"

[Processing query. Please wait.]

The screen flickered for a moment before text appeared.

[Analysis complete. Your primary advantages are as follows:]

[1. Negative Mana Absorption - You can drain energy from your surroundings and from your opponent’s attacks. A purely physical fighter using mana-enhanced strength is feeding you power with every strike.]

[2. Unconventional Combat Style - Kane’s experience is against traditional hunters who follow established patterns. Your fighting method has no precedent in this world.]

[3. Environmental Manipulation - Your negative mana can create zones of energy depletion, weakening mana-based enhancements in a localized area.]

[4. Endurance Competition - Kane likely expects a short, decisive fight. Your training regimen gives you stamina reserves that exceed normal parameters for your level.]

He read through the list twice, his mind already working through the implications.

’So I can’t beat him in a straight fight, but I can make it a war of attrition. Drain his power, avoid his strongest attacks, and outlast him.’

"That’s a terrible plan," Khorvash said, reading over his shoulder. "You’re basically saying you’re going to let him beat on you until he gets tired."

"Not let him. Make him work for every hit. Use the terrain, stay mobile, and drain his mana enhancement with every exchange."

"And when he lands a clean hit? Because he will. He’s B-5, Luthra. One solid punch from him could pulverize your internal organs."

"Then I make sure he doesn’t land clean hits."

She looked at him for a long moment, then sighed, more smoke curling from her nose. "You’re insane. You know that, right?"

"I’ve been told."

Rebecca burst through the door, her hair a mess and her shirt on backwards. "Luthra! Big scary guy on a lizard just rode into town! He’s got this huge hammer thing and he looks really mad!"

Khorvash checked the position of the sun through the window. "That’s not noon. He’s early."

"Apparently, he doesn’t care about your schedule," Rebecca said, bouncing on her heels with nervous energy. "Misha sent me to get you. She said, and I quote, ’Get that stubborn bastard down here before Kane decides to start demolishing buildings.’"

Luthra stood up and grabbed his chain, wrapping it around his arm in the familiar pattern. The weight was comforting, solid and real.

"Guess we’re doing this now."

He walked past Khorvash and Rebecca, heading for the door. Behind him, he heard Khorvash mutter something under her breath that sounded like a prayer in the dragon tongue.

The walk down to the main courtyard felt longer than it should have. Workers stopped what they were doing to watch him pass, their expressions a mixture of hope and fear. They’d seen him kill Silas, but they’d also seen how close he’d come to losing.

When he emerged into the open area in front of the main building, he saw Kane immediately.

The man was massive, easily seven feet tall and built like a walking fortress. He wore simple leather armor that looked like it was made from some kind of monster hide, and strapped to his back was a war hammer so large it seemed ridiculous. The head of the hammer was the size of a barrel, made from dull gray metal that had runes etched into its surface.

Kane’s face was weathered and scarred, with a thick beard that was more gray than black. But his eyes were sharp, calculating, and they locked onto Luthra the moment he appeared.

The big man dismounted from his lizard with surprising grace, his boots hitting the ground with a heavy thud that seemed to echo through the courtyard.

"So," Kane’s voice was deep, like rocks grinding together, "You’re the one who killed Silas."

Luthra stopped about twenty feet away, his hand resting on the chain wrapped around his arm. "I am."

Kane looked him up and down, taking in his plain clothes, his lack of armor, and the simple industrial chain. Then he laughed, a booming sound that made several of the watching workers flinch.

"A chain. You killed a B-Rank mage with an industrial chain. That’s either the bravest thing I’ve ever heard or the dumbest."

"It worked."

"Yeah, I heard about your little magic trick. The Sigil of Binding, right? Expensive toy. Must have cost you everything you had."

’He knows. Of course he knows. The Syndicate probably has informants everywhere.’

Kane reached back and pulled the massive war hammer off his back, resting it on his shoulder like it weighed nothing. "Here’s the thing, kid. I respect what you did. Running into Silas’s operation, freeing his slaves, taking his territory. That takes guts. But you cheated to win, and the Syndicate doesn’t respect cheaters."

"I used the tools available to me. That’s not cheating, that’s strategy."

"Call it whatever you want. Today, we’re going to find out what you can do without your expensive toys." Kane stepped forward, and the ground cracked under his weight. "I’m giving you one chance. Pack up, leave the mines, and never come back to Syndicate territory. Do that, and we’re done here."

"No."

"No?"

"I won this place in a legal duel. It’s mine. If you want it, you’ll have to take it the same way I did."

Kane’s grin widened. "Kid, I was hoping you’d say that."

He lifted his hammer and pointed it at Luthra. "By the authority of the Gorgon Syndicate, I, Kane the Juggernaut, challenge you to single combat. Victory by death, surrender, or incapacitation. Do you accept?"

Luthra unwrapped the chain from his arm, letting the end fall to the ground with a heavy clank.

"I accept."

The spectators immediately began backing away, creating a wide circle around them. Misha was shouting something about evacuation protocols, and Khorvash had moved to shield Rebecca with her body.

Kane rolled his shoulders, and Luthra could see mana beginning to flow through the big man’s body, enhancing his muscles, reinforcing his bones. The air around him shimmered with raw power.

’Here we go, no Sigil, no backup plan, just me, my chain, and whatever I can figure out in the next few minutes.’

Kane took a step forward, then another, building momentum with each stride. When he was ten feet away, he swung his hammer in a wide horizontal arc, the weapon moving faster than something that size had any right to.

Luthra dove to the side, the hammer passing close enough that he felt the wind from its passage. The weapon impacted the ground where he’d been standing, and the entire courtyard shook. A crater five feet wide appeared in the packed earth.

’One hit, that’s all it would take, one clean hit and I’m done.’

He rolled to his feet and swung his chain at Kane’s legs, trying to tangle them and disrupt the big man’s balance. The chain wrapped around Kane’s ankle, and Luthra pulled hard.

Kane didn’t even stumble. He just looked down at the chain, then back up at Luthra, and smiled.

"Cute."

Then he yanked his leg back, and Luthra was suddenly airborne, pulled forward by his own weapon. He let go of the chain at the last second, using the momentum to flip over Kane’s follow-up hammer swing.

He landed badly, his shoulder hitting the ground hard enough to bruise. He scrambled to his feet just as Kane’s hammer came down again, this time in a vertical strike that would have flattened him.

’Too strong, too fast, I need to change the approach.’

Luthra focused his negative mana, pushing it out through his feet and into the ground. The energy spread out in a circle around him, creating a zone where regular mana began to thin out, being consumed by the void.

Kane frowned, clearly feeling the effect. His mana enhancement flickered slightly, weakening just a fraction.

"Interesting trick, too bad it won’t save you."

The big man charged, and Luthra ran, leading him across the courtyard, trying to keep the energy drain active while avoiding the hammer that was destroying everything it touched.

’Khorvash was right, this is insane, but it’s also the only chance I’ve got.’

Kane swung again, and this time Luthra didn’t dodge. He stepped into the attack, inside the hammer’s arc, and drove his fist into Kane’s ribs with all the force he could muster.

It was like punching a brick wall. Luthra felt bones in his hand crack from the impact.

Kane looked down at him, almost amused. "That the best you got?"

Then he headbutted Luthra so hard the world went white for a second.

Luthra hit the ground, blood pouring from his nose, his vision swimming. He heard Kane’s heavy footsteps approaching, heard the scrape of the hammer being dragged across the ground.

’Get up, get up right now or you’re dead.’

He forced himself to his knees, then to his feet, swaying but upright. Kane was right in front of him, hammer raised for a finishing blow.

"You got heart, kid, I’ll give you that, but heart doesn’t beat experience."

The hammer came down, and Luthra moved on pure instinct, diving forward and rolling between Kane’s legs. He came up behind the big man and wrapped his arms around Kane’s waist, pouring every bit of negative mana he had directly into the Juggernaut’s body.

Kane’s eyes went wide. "What the—"

The mana enhancement keeping his body reinforced began to unravel, consumed by the void energy Luthra was pumping into him. For just a moment, Kane’s strength dropped to merely human levels.

And in that moment, Luthra squeezed.

Something in Kane’s lower back popped, and the big man let out a roar of pain and fury. He reached back, grabbed Luthra by the collar, and threw him across the courtyard like a ragdoll.

Luthra hit the wall of a building hard enough to crack the stone. He fell to the ground, gasping in pain, pretty sure he’d just broken at least three ribs.

But Kane was on one knee, one hand pressed to his lower back, his face twisted in pain and surprise.

"You little bastard, you actually hurt me."

Luthra spat blood and grinned. "Good, now we’re both broken, let’s see who breaks first."