SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will-Chapter 11: Intent Is Currency

Arthur bent down and picked up the first core.

It was warm in his palm, faintly pulsing, like it was still trying to remember what it had been before it died. He turned it once between his fingers, feeling the subtle vibration beneath the surface, then slipped it into the rough pouch he had tied around his waist. The leather was already torn and stretched, but it would have to do.

"Guess you’re my paycheck," he muttered.

He moved quickly after that, gathering what little else there was. A chipped blade that still had some edge left to it. A strip of hardened leather that might be useful later. Another core from the second kobold. Not much overall, but enough to matter.

He knew it would matter even more if he managed to get out of the dungeon alive.

The weight at his waist was starting to pull uncomfortably as he stood.

"Storage space would be nice," he said under his breath while adjusting the pouch. "But let’s not get greedy. One miracle at a time."

Nothing answered him, of course.

He hadn’t really expected it to.

Arthur straightened and moved on.

The dungeon felt different now. Not quieter if anything, it was louder, but sharper. Every sound stood out with uncomfortable clarity. The scrape of his boots against stone. The distant clang of steel on steel. A scream that cut off too quickly to be comforting.

Arthur didn’t slow.

He had purpose now. Something clearer than survival alone.

Intent points.

Training material.

The thought alone kept his steps lighter than they had any right to be. His body ached, fatigue creeping up from every bruise and cut, but it no longer ruled him. Sovereign’s Bearing kept it in check, like a steady hand pressed between his shoulders, urging him forward.

As he walked, he called up the system again.

And the response came immediately.

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

⟦ Intent Point Evaluation ⟧

• Source: F-Rank Kobold

• Base Intent Points: 1

⟬ Modifiers Applied ⟭

→ Decisive Kill Bonus: +20%

→ Precise Weak Point Strike Bonus: +30%

━━━ CALCULATION ━━━

1 × 1.5

━━━ INTENT POINTS GAINED ━━━

✦ +1.5 IP ✦

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

Another panel slid into place right after.

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

⟦ Intent Point Evaluation ⟧

• Source: F-Rank Kobold

• Base Intent Points: 1

⟬ Modifiers Applied ⟭

→ Near Lethal Engagement Bonus: +30%

→ Skill-Aligned Intent Bonus: +20%

━━━ CALCULATION ━━━

1 × 1.5

━━━ INTENT POINTS GAINED ━━━

✦ +1.5 IP ✦

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

Arthur let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"So it really is watching everything," he said quietly. "Not just the kill. How I do it."

A final interface appeared.

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

⟦ Intent Point Summary ⟧

• Previous Total: 5.6 IP

• Current Gains: 3.0 IP

━━━ TOTAL INTENT POINTS AVAILABLE ━━━

✦ 8.6 IP ✦

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

He stared at the number longer than he needed to.

"So close," he murmured. "One more good fight and I can upgrade again."

The thought sent a tight coil of excitement through his chest.

Surgical Intent was already strong. He could feel it every time he focused, every time the world seemed to line itself up just right for a clean end. If this was what the first level could do, then the next—

Arthur shook his head.

"Later," he told himself. "Earn it first."

He pushed deeper into the dungeon.

It didn’t take long.

The sound reached him first. Scraping claws. Short, sharp barks. The clatter of crude weapons striking stone.

Three shapes moved ahead, half-hidden by broken pillars and uneven ground.

Kobolds.

Arthur didn’t stop walking.

Three intent points.

No. More than that.

Practice.

"Alright," he whispered. "Let’s be clean."

The moment one of the kobolds looked up, Arthur moved.

He broke into a sprint, dagger already in his hand. His body flowed forward without hesitation. No wasted motion. No second guessing.

The first kobold barely had time to widen its eyes.

Shnk.

Arthur slid past it, dagger driving up beneath the jaw and into the soft point there. The blade went in clean and deep. The kobold’s breath left it in a wet gasp as its body folded and hit the ground.

Thud!

Arthur didn’t look back.

The other two snarled as shock turned into aggression. Muscles bulged as both activated their burst skill at the same time. Stone cracked beneath their feet as they launched toward him.

Too fast.

Arthur twisted, feeling one blade skim past his ribs. The other came down from above.

Clang!

He raised his sword just in time, the impact sending a hard jolt through his arms.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue.

He let himself fall back, using the force of the strike to roll aside. Dust filled the air as the kobolds landed where he had been standing a moment earlier.

Arthur came up on one knee, already tracking movement.

There.

The kobold on the left had overextended. Just slightly.

Arthur stepped in.

Shnk!

The dagger punched deep into the kobold’s thigh. It screamed as its leg gave out, collapsing awkwardly.

Arthur didn’t finish it.

The third kobold was already charging.

Arthur met it head-on.

He dropped his center of gravity, caught the kobold’s swinging arm, and twisted hard.

Crack!

The kobold shrieked as Arthur drove forward, slamming his shoulder into its chest. They hit the ground together.

Thud!

Arthur moved on instinct. Elbow down. Knee into ribs.

Thump. Thump.

The kobold flailed beneath him, claws scraping uselessly against his armor.

"Stay down," Arthur growled.

He activated Surgical Intent.

The world narrowed.

He saw the angle of the neck. The tension in the spine. The single point where force would end it.

Shnk!

The dagger went in.

The kobold went still.

Arthur rolled off it and turned immediately toward the injured one.

It was trying to crawl away, dragging its useless leg behind it. Panic had replaced aggression entirely.

Arthur walked toward it.

Step. Step.

The kobold looked back, eyes wide, and shrieked.

"Yeah," Arthur said quietly. "I know."

He drove his sword down.

Crk!

Silence followed.

Arthur stood there for a moment, chest rising and falling. Sweat ran down his face. Blood soaked his sleeves. His arms trembled, not from fear, but from exertion.

He wiped his face with the back of his hand.

"That’s three," he said. "And none of you even touched me properly."

He laughed once, short and breathless.

"Guess I’m learning."

The system answered.

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

⟦ Intent Point Evaluation ⟧

• Source: F-Rank Kobold

• Base Intent Points: 1

⟬ Modifiers Applied ⟭

→ First Strike Kill Bonus: +20%

→ Skill-Aligned Intent Bonus: +20%

━━━ CALCULATION ━━━

1 × 1.4

━━━ INTENT POINTS GAINED ━━━

✦ +1.4 IP ✦

✦══════════════════════════════════════✦

But the system wasn’t finished.

Another interface began to form.