Chapter 24

Suho had drawn two swords from his inventory in an instant and blocked the attack. In that fleeting moment, his gaze crossed that of the man in the crow mask.

'What incredible strength.'

'Not bad.'

Suho's current Strength stat was 39. Having invested most of his stat points in Strength, he was more confident in it than in any of his other stats. Yet the crow-masked man, with his single enormous arm, was every bit as strong.

WHAM!

As though by agreement, both sprang backward at once. Then they lunged at each other even faster, blades flashing.

CRASH-BOOM!

Suho's twin swords swept through a ferocious flurry of strikes. The crow-masked man's swollen arm batted them aside, blasting apart the walls and floor. Only two seconds had passed.

"Gah!"

Having narrowly escaped danger thanks to Suho, the raid leader immediately retreated.

'What's going on? How can that summoner fight like...?'

Though Suho's tremendous fighting prowess briefly captured his attention, he did not forget his duty. A raid leader's most important asset was the eye to judge a magic beast's strength. In other words, the ability to sense danger.

"It's a D-rank magic beast! Everyone, attack!"

He quickly gauged the crow-masked man's mana and shouted to the others.

"D-rank?"

At that, the hunters snapped out of their daze and readied their attacks in unison.

"Then we can handle it!"

"Kill it!"

CRASH-BOOM!

The hunters unleashed a concentrated barrage of skills on the crow-masked man fighting Suho. But he easily dodged every attack and leaped backward.

"D-rank?"

Clinging to the tunnel wall like a spider, he sneered.

"Who the hell are you to size me up like that when I'm standing right here?"

Then he slipped his other hand—the one without the swollen arm—inside his robe and smoothly drew out a small potion.

"Is that...?!"

Teaching Assistant Im was the first to recognize the potion: a blue liquid glittering with brilliant starlight.

"Stardust! It's Stardust! Don't let him drink it!"

The hunters' eyes widened at Im's urgent cry.

"Stardust?"

"You mean that mana amplifier?"

For some time now, a rumor had been quietly circulating among hunters.

—They say there's a mana amplifier called Stardust.

According to the rumor, all you had to do was take Stardust, and your mana would remain enhanced for about a week. It supposedly had no side effects whatsoever.

Naturally, it was exorbitantly expensive, but the price hardly mattered. With the extra mana from Stardust, you could hunt in higher-ranked dungeons and earn more than enough to cover the cost. As a result, it was always sold out, impossible to obtain even if you wanted it.

"Correct."

The crow-masked man grinned and took the potion bottle between his teeth, his mouth exposed beneath the mask.

"Stop him!"

GULP.

By the time the hunters rushed him, it was already too late.

CRACKLE!

After swallowing the Stardust, his body began to swell rapidly, as though bringing itself into proportion with his already oversized arm.

"Raaagh!"

With a savage roar, he kicked off the wall and launched himself forward.

BOOM!

His two enormous arms swept through the hunters in an instant.

"Aaagh!"

They flew in every direction like bowling pins.

"Impossible."

The raid leader's eyes trembled at the sight. His assessment of the crow-masked man as D-rank had been mistaken.

"He's become... a C-rank magic beast!"

It was completely unexpected. Who could have imagined that Stardust could amplify mana that much?

"Everyone, run! We can't handle him on our own!"

[Now, now. You won't know until you try.]

"...!"

Beru had come up beside the raid leader unnoticed and was grinning.

[Our Young Monarch is just getting warmed up.]

"...!"

There was no need to ask whom Beru meant. Suho was already hunting the man alongside his shadow soldiers.

"Shadow Goblins, use your skills!"

[Kerrk, kerrk!]

The seven shadow soldiers under Suho's command currently consisted of five Goblin Decurions and two Shadow Centurions. Since they had once commanded ordinary goblins, each possessed skills of its own.

[Kirakula!]

[Shadow Goblin uses 'Skill: Ice Arrow.']

WHOOOOSH!

An icy spear flew forward and froze the crow-masked man's leg.

CRACK!

For an instant, the enemy who had been overwhelming Suho with his tremendous size and strength faltered, his movement halted.

[Kirakula!]

SHHHH!

A sinister, blood-red aura settled over him.

[Shadow Goblin uses 'Skill: Blood Curse.']

[Physical damage taken by the target increases by 15% for 1 minute.]

"...!"

The crow-masked man's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself slowed and cursed to take increased damage.

[Kerrrk!]

The Shadow Goblins rushed him together, hacking wildly at him with their butchering knives and saws.

"Hah! These pathetic little tricks...!"

CRASH!

With contemptuous ease, the crow-masked man shook the ice from his leg and mercilessly tore the Shadow Goblins apart.

But...

[Kerrrk!]

The Shadow Goblins cackled with even greater scorn as their severed halves rejoined on the spot.

Then, with grotesque movements, they clung to his enormous torso and began relentlessly plunging their knives into him.

"Gaaah! Wh-what the...?!"

For the first time, bewilderment crossed his face.

The seven goblins were armed with nothing more than kitchen knives and saws meant for cutting up magic beasts. Even with the curse amplifying damage by 15%, they could not inflict any significant injury on him. But combined with the frenzy of endlessly regenerating goblins, the result was far too much to ignore.

[Keheh! Keheheh!]

SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK!

[Kerrk! Kerrrrk!]

SHUNK! THWACK! SHUNK! THWACK! SLASH! SLASH-SLASH!

[Kiheheheh!]

"You damned leeches!"

Drenched in black blood in moments, the crow-masked man furiously kept tearing off the creatures clinging to him and smashing them to the ground. The more he did, the more doggedly the goblins regenerated and latched onto him.

"Wh-what the hell are those...?"

The hunters watching the horrifically brutal battle were aghast.

"How can summons...?"

This was nothing like the summoner skills they knew. Those usually amounted to commanding fingernail-sized Exploding Bugs to detonate or summoning Sleep Butterflies to put one or two magic beasts to sleep. Of course, a few hunters had useful summons, but none controlled fiendish creatures that toyed with their opponents while regenerating endlessly.

But Suho's mana was not limitless, either.

'Regenerating shadow soldiers consumes mana. The longer this drags on, the worse it is for me.'

Suho sprang forward, slashing the man's enormous body again and again with Rakan’s Fang and Vulcan's Horn.

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!

The faster he struck, the more Rakan’s Fang's skill shone.

[Effect 'Critical Wound': Has a 15% chance to deal critical damage of at least twice the normal amount.]

"Raaagh! You bastard!"

The crow-masked man glared furiously at Suho, the cause of all this. Then he seized his chance.

"...!"

Ignoring the smaller goblins' attacks, he grabbed Suho's blade in his massive hand.

"Ha. Finally caught you, you little rat."

Blood burst from his palm as he gripped the blade, but he did not care. Wearing an utterly vicious smile, he drove his other fist into Suho's side.

THWACK!

It sounded like a drum bursting.

But...

['Skill: Toughness' reduces damage taken.]

Suho merely glared back defiantly.

"Try harder."

[Skill: Toughness Lv.2]

Passive skill.

No mana required.

You possess indomitable toughness.

Physical defense increases by 40%.

"You little shit!"

BOOM!

The man hoisted Suho up, sword and all, and slammed him into the floor.

"Guh!"

Suho spat blood from the impact and lost his grip on the sword.

"N-no!"

"Suho!"

His ears rang. He thought he could hear Teaching Assistant Im's voice from somewhere far away.

"Ptooey. How dare a weak little summoner like you try me."

The crow-masked man's mocking voice reached him, too.

"I'll be taking this sword now."

He seemed quite taken with Suho's sword, which had left him drenched in blood. But the feeling was mutual.

—And what are you supposed to be?

"Huh?"

At that moment, the corners of Suho's mouth curled into a grin as he lay on the floor.

—Who dares covet the sword of the Monarch of Fangs!

"...!"

WHOOOOSH!

Suddenly, red veins bulged as though about to burst along the crow-masked man's arm—the one holding Rakan’s Fang.

"Wh-what is this...?!"

Horrified, he tried to fling Rakan’s Fang away, but the erosion had already begun. The sword clung to his hand as though glued there and began taking over his body.

—An inferior wretch dares claim me? Offer me your soul and flesh, and die!

"You insane sword!"

The crow-masked man drew on his power to stop the erosion. A sinister energy suppressed deep within him pushed back against the power of Rakan’s Fang.

—Oh? What's this? Someone got here first?

Rakan’s Fang burst into an amused laugh.

—So a demon has already stolen your body.

"Raaagh!"

Howling like a beast, the crow-masked man barely managed to shake Rakan’s Fang from his hand.

But just then...

SHUNK!

Suho had closed in unnoticed and driven Vulcan's Horn through his heart.

"Guh...?"

He gasped, his eyes wide.

"Checkmate."

Suho swept Vulcan's Horn through him, cleaving his body in two.

SLASH!

Black blood sprayed like rain.

THUD.

The crow mask slipped off his face as he tumbled across the floor. Beneath it was a face so hideously distorted it could scarcely be called human.

"Cough!"

Gasping out his last breaths, he bared his teeth at Suho.

"Don't get too pleased with yourself... just because you killed me."

"What?"

"Sooner or later, you're all dead anyway."

He left behind one last utterance, almost a curse.

"... Just like the Radir Clan was destroyed."

The light faded from his eyes.

At that moment...

WHOOSH!

[Vulcan's Horn devours the demon's soul.]

Vulcan's Horn sucked the sinister energy from his body.

[Demon souls devoured: 1]

[Effect 'Destructive Urge': Increases physical damage by [31%].]

"A demon?"

Suho's eyes lit with interest. Just as he had first suspected, this was why the Cursed Random Box had given him Vulcan's Horn.

[You have leveled up!]

A light flashed. Suho's entire body was enveloped in a soft blue glow, and all his wounds healed completely.

Suho mulled over the man's last words.

"... But the Radir Clan? What did he mean by that?"

[The Radir Clan was destroyed?]

Beru, who had just approached Suho, suddenly thrust his head forward and tilted it.

"You know them?"

[Of course. The Radir Clan is demon nobility. Though they were a noble clan, they ranked twentieth among demons, making them one of the weakest. However...]

Beru narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the lesser demon's corpse.

[Long ago, my liege exterminated the clans ranked first through nineteenth, which unexpectedly made them the highest-ranking clan of all.]