Beast Hack: Customizing Beasts and Capturing Beauties - Chapter 333

Chapter 333: Lucius Watched It All… And Smiled
Inside Luxoria Castle—

A large crystal screen projected images from above.

Liline stood near the console, arms folded, eyes calmly monitoring the feed.

The final moments of the trials played on loop.

Mist dragons defeated, weapons shattered, and the survivors finally emerging.

Lucius stood before it all, silent.

Luna leaned closer, eyes scanning the footage.

“They actually made it through…”

Loreia crossed her arms.

“Took them long enough. I was starting to think none of them would survive.”

Luna smirked. “I’m more surprised how hard-headed they were.”

“Even after being half-dead, they kept charging forward like madmen.”

Loreia pointed at the screen.

“That one. He was bleeding from the chest and still shouting orders.”

“They’re all like that,” Luna muttered.

“Stubborn, reckless, and somehow still breathing.”

Liora stepped forward from the side, arms crossed. “They had to be.”

Everyone glanced at her.

She looked at the scene where the Sovereign Mist Beast, Nebelis, had initiated the trials.

“The new mist beast isn’t weak,” Liora said plainly.

“Even I didn’t expect it to push them that far.”

Lucius’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Exactly.”

Loreia turned to him. “So… did they pass?”

Lucius glanced at the footage before speaking.

“Of course they passed.”

Loreia raised her eyebrow. “You sound certain.”

Lucius gave a faint nod.

“The moment they defeated the mist clone of Nebelis, the test was already over.”

Luna folded her arms. “Wait—just the clone?”

Lucius turned slightly toward them. “You think I’d let the real one fight them?”

He let the silence hang for a moment.

“Remember—the trial wasn’t about killing a beast. It was about filtering the weak.”

Liora’s eyes narrowed. “So anyone strong enough to overcome the clone… gets in?”

Lucius smirked.

“Exactly. I already told Nebelis to use only its clones to fight them.”

Lucius gestured toward the screen. “Anyone who defeats its clone… passes.”

Loreia looked back at the footage. “So this was a screening process.”

“A brutal one,” Luna added.

“And you made it look like a death trap.”

Lucius turned, smiling slightly.

“If I told them it was a filter, they wouldn’t take it seriously.”

“But when you believe you’re fighting for your life… you show what you really are.”

Liora nodded once. “You saw what you needed.”

Lucius looked out at the castle courtyard beyond the screen.

The surviving hunters were approaching.

They were wounded, exhausted, and unaware of what waited next.

“Let’s give them a gift for passing the test.”

He turned toward his system.

“System. Hack the ones who passed and fully heal them.”

—

[Hack Initiation: Mass Healing Directive]

[Targets: All Individuals Who Passed the Test and Arrived at Luxoria Castle]

[Effect: Instantly Restore All Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Conditions to Full Health]

[Cost Required: 1,000,000,000 Hack Points

[Status: Executing…]

—

Luna blinked as he heard what Lucius said.

“You’re healing all of them?”

Loreia narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t expect that.”

Lucius smirked. “It’s not just healing. It’s a demonstration.”

He gestured to the screen again as the survivor began to heal.

“No potions. No healers. Just instant restoration while they were in our area.”

Luna chuckled. “You want them to feel small before they even step inside.”

Loreia shrugged. “Or awestruck.”

Lucius turned, hands folding behind his back.

“Let them feel what true power looks like. Let them understand what it means… to step into the real Luxoria Castle.”

Liora gave a faint nod. “They’ll understand.”

—

Dario suddenly felt something strange in his body.

He looked down at his arm.

There had been deep injuries and blood seeping from it.

But now it was gone.

The wound vanished right before his eyes, replaced with flawless skin.

He blinked, stunned.

“What the hell…?”

Colan stepped back, gripping his staff.

“Something’s happening—my mana’s full again. All of it.”

Thalia looked down at her leg, which had been half-bruised and stiff.

She rotated it once. No pain at all.

“Okay, what did we just walk into?”

Orlen flexed his arms, wide-eyed.

“My back—it’s fixed. I had two cracked ribs!”

Jenavira narrowed her eyes.

“This isn’t natural recovery. This is… instantaneous.”

Alaric cracked his neck, his fatigue already lifting.

“Feels like I slept for ten hours and got a new body in the process.”

Dravin snorted. “If that’s what death feels like, sign me up.”

Sirelia held up her hand, watching faint light pulse through her fingertips.

“It’s not just healing. Even spiritual energy is stable. Balanced.”

Kanos scanned the surroundings.

“No caster or even machine. This came from the castle.”

Marek’s eyes glowed slightly.

“Correction—it came through the castle. The source is deeper.”

Elliane reloaded her rifle slowly, eyes focused on the opening gates ahead.

“Then someone did this on purpose.”

Dario looked toward the silver doors inching open.

“Healing all ten of us at once… Who the hell has power like that?”

Jenavira didn’t answer right away. She just stepped forward.

Then she said quietly, “Lord L.”

Kanos narrowed his eyes. “Now I want to know what this auction’s really about.”

In the back, Dario pulled out his phone and opened the Beastagram.

Hundreds of new posts flooded his screen.

Images of survivor teams limping through fog and arguments happening live.

Dario’s eyes widened. “Wow… Everyone’s talking about it now.”

Dario typed something and posted it

—

@IronBurst_Dario:

“Luxoria Castle, huh? I don’t know what kind of auction needs to nearly kill us before letting us in. But if that was the test, then damn. I better see something shocking behind those doors.”

@ThunderTamer_Rei:

“WHO MAKES A FOG MAZE WITH A REALLY POWERFUL S-RANK BEAST AS A CUSTOMER FILTER?! I JUST CAME TO BUY A DAMN MOUNT.”

@FrostLine_Veyla:

“I’m still coughing up mist. What even WAS that trial? Where were the signs? The warnings?!”

@GraveHawk_Sonn:

“Bro. That fog claw thing sliced my shield in HALF. I’m not even mad, just confused—was that a discount code challenge or what?”

@NightCrawl_Aster:

“Someone explain why we got jumped by a literal fog dragon. This is just an auction, not a dungeon raid.”

—