The harbor at 2 AM was quiet except for the sound of water lapping against hulls and the occasional snore from drunk sailors sleeping on deck. Phantom moved through the darkness like a ghost, his Wraith Cloak making him nearly invisible.
He approached the Crimson Revenge from the water side, climbing up the anchor chain with careful precision. His actual weight made the chain creak slightly, but the ambient noise of the harbor covered it.
On deck, three pirates slept in various states of intoxication. Phantom stepped over them carefully, heading for the stern cabin.
The door was locked, but that was trivial. His lockpicks had the door open in seconds.
Inside, Captain Redfield lay in his bunk, snoring loudly. The cabin stank of rum and unwashed pirate. Various looted goods were scattered around—jewelry, coins, weapons taken from victims.
Phantom drew his poisoned dagger and approached silently.
Redfield's eyes snapped open.
The pirate captain rolled out of bed with surprising speed for someone who'd been drinking, grabbing a cutlass that had been hidden under his pillow. His Bronze - Peak Stage aura flared to life.
"Assassin!" he roared, swinging the cutlass in a wide arc.
Phantom ducked under the swing and lashed out with his dagger. The blade caught Redfield across the forearm—a shallow cut, barely breaking skin.
But it was enough.
The Legendary-grade poison entered Redfield's bloodstream instantly. The pirate captain's eyes widened as he felt it take effect.
"What... what did you..." His sword arm began to shake. The cutlass fell from nerveless fingers.
Ten seconds. Redfield collapsed to his knees, his Bronze Rank power flickering as the poison attacked his mana channels.
"Crew... help..." he tried to shout, but his voice came out as a whisper. Paralysis was setting in.
Phantom watched coldly as the poison did its work. Fifteen seconds. Redfield's breathing became labored. Twenty seconds. Blood began to leak from his nose and ears as internal organs failed.
Thirty seconds. The pirate captain fell forward, dead.
Marcus had expected to feel something—satisfaction, guilt, triumph. But there was only cold calculation. The poison worked exactly as intended.
But now came the truly experimental part of his new strategy.
Phantom placed his right hand on Redfield's corpse and activated his Midas Touch. The body transformed into a massive mana crystal—easily the size of a small barrel, pulsing with Bronze - Peak Stage energy.
A human's worth of concentrated mana.
According to his understanding of cultivation, living beings contained far more mana than objects. A Bronze - Peak Stage cultivator like Redfield would have mana equivalent to perhaps fifty high-grade mana crystals.
All of it now captured in crystal form.
Phantom sat down cross-legged right there in the cabin and placed both hands on the massive crystal. He began the absorption meditation, pulling the mana from the crystal into his own channels.
The power flooded into him like a raging river. So much mana, so pure, so concentrated. His cultivation base expanded rapidly, the barriers between stages crumbling under the sheer volume of energy.
IRON RANK - HIGH STAGE: 94%... 97%... 100%...
BREAKTHROUGH DETECTED. ADVANCING TO BRONZE RANK.
Marcus felt his entire body transform. His mana channels expanded and reinforced themselves. His physical capabilities increased dramatically. The world seemed sharper, clearer, more vibrant. His Midas Touch range extended from five feet to nearly fifteen feet.
BRONZE RANK - LOW STAGE: 34%
He'd not only broken through to Bronze Rank, but the excess mana from Redfield's crystal had pushed him a third of the way through the Low Stage.
This was revolutionary. He'd just gained more cultivation progress in five minutes than most people achieved in months.
Phantom stood, feeling the new power coursing through him. He was now officially Bronze Rank, matching his Phantom identity's previous claims.
But he needed to leave. The absorption had taken nearly ten minutes, and he could hear stirring from the crew quarters.
Phantom grabbed the depleted crystal shards—even empty, they had value—and moved for the cabin door.
A pirate stumbled in, bleary-eyed and drunk. "Cap'n, why're you—"
He stopped, staring at Phantom. Then at the empty bunk where his captain should have been.
"INTRUDER! ASSASSIN ON BOARD!"
Phantom threw a smoke bomb at the pirate's feet and ran. The deck erupted into chaos as pirates scrambled from their bunks, grabbing weapons, shouting alerts.
But Phantom was already over the railing, dropping into the water. His Shadowstep Boots allowed him to land silently in the harbor, and he swam underwater using an enchanted rebreather—another piece of expensive equipment he'd purchased for exactly this kind of escape.
By the time the pirates organized a search, Phantom was three blocks inland, leaving a trail of water that evaporated under his Wraith Cloak's heat enchantment.
He made it back to his warehouse base without incident.
Marcus removed his mask and examined his hands. They still glowed faintly with Bronze Rank power—his advancement was real, complete, permanent.
He'd just discovered a method that changed everything. Not only could he kill targets more reliably with poison, but he could convert their bodies into mana crystals and absorb them on the spot, gaining massive cultivation progress.
It was efficient. Brutal. Effective.
And deeply disturbing if he thought about it too much.
Marcus pushed that thought aside. This was survival. In a world where power determined everything, he'd found a way to advance faster than anyone else. He'd be a fool not to use it.
He checked his system status:
CULTIVATION: Bronze Rank - Low Stage (34%) ALCHEMY: Bronze Rank Alchemist (Certified) WEALTH: 275,000 gold + 3,500 mana crystals + rare ingredients CONTRACTS COMPLETED: 25 total REPUTATION: Phantom - "Diamond Rank Assassin" (estimated by public)
That last part made him smile. People thought he was Diamond Rank based on his displays of power. Perfect. Let them overestimate. It made his actual Bronze Rank seem unthreatening by comparison.
Tomorrow, he'd return to Luminaris Academy and "discover" his breakthrough to Bronze Rank. Surprised professors, congratulations from peers, questions about how he advanced so quickly—all planned responses ready.
But tonight, Marcus allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. His new strategy worked. Poison to prevent escape, transmutation to crystal, absorption for cultivation progress.
Three steps to efficiency. Three steps to power.
Three steps closer to survival in this deadly world.